In Fourteen Days
by FireEdge
Summary: FE9. AU. While Shiharam goes to war, Jill is forced to stay at Haar's apartment for two weeks. Nothing could prepare her for what she would encounter during that time. HaarJill.
1. Day 1

Hello everybody! After taking a little break, I have now returned with a new multi-chapter fic.

Oscar: …

FireEdge: You're supposed to cheer.

Oscar: Oh, sorry. Huzzah!

FireEdge: Anyway, I decided that I wanted to try out something new. To be precise, I wanted to try and write an AU story. Also, this was GOING to be first person, but then I wasn't sure if I could keep it up for so long… My only warning is that this story is going to be… not too deep. I'm aiming for a romantic comedy kinda feel (with that slight hint of drama, you know?) so don't think too much while you're reading, hmm?

Oscar: So kick back, relax and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 1 **

_Friday, October 13_

_I still can't believe that Dad's making me stay at Haar's! I'm sixteen, for Ashera's sake! I've been fine by myself before. Why couldn't he just get Mrs. Williams to check on me everyday and leave it at that? It's worked fine for the past three years! Now I'm stuck in this pigsty of an apartment with Haar. Does he even care that I'm staying with a man that ISN'T family? ALONE?! I mean, sure, he's pretty much as close to us as that, but it's still different! I don't know HOW I'm going to survive these two weeks…_

—_Jill_

* * *

"You want me to do _what_?" Haar asked, his eyes now wide open. Moments before he had been dozing off, but what Shiharam just said caught his attention; and not in a good way.

"I need you to watch Jill for me while I'm gone. So, I'd like you to let her stay at your place. It's big enough," the other man answered.

"That's not the point! Why can't I just check on her once in a while? She's what, sixteen? Jill's a big girl," he said, desperately trying to sway his decision. Haar didn't even want to _think_ about how Jill moving in would disrupt his schedule (and sleeping pattern). Anyway, he didn't think that he could deal with a teenage girl. The drama would drive him up a wall, he was sure.

"No, I want her to stay at your place, where you can keep an eye on her," Shiharam replied firmly. "That way you can make sure she doesn't… find out too much about the war. It's going to get bad, I know it, and I don't want her to worry."

"Oh, so that's it. You want her to think that this is going to be just a normal mission… but it's not. It's that bad?"

Haar knew that Daein's war with neighbouring Crimea was getting rough, but it was still only small tussles on the border. The area around Riven Bridge was especially dangerous. Outside of the border regions, the rest of Daein hadn't really felt the effects of the war. Not yet, anyway.

"You know that Crimea lacks a military air force. They've only got a few old Pegasi, so our fights have been relatively easy wins. However, Begnion's starting to send in help," Shiharam replied grimly.

"Damn."

Begnion, while not as much of a military country, did possess a much larger army than Daein. Their air force was especially potent, possessing many high-speed Pegasi as well as the hard-hitting Wyverns.

"… So, Haar, will you do this favour for me? Keep Jill safe and try your best to downplay this war. The king doesn't like too much information leaking out to the media, anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard."

Haar had nearly forgotten about his request and he frowned. As if he could say 'no' after being told all of that.

"Tsk, do I have a choice?"

* * *

"What the hell did you pack in here? Bricks? Your entire room, maybe?" Haar asked as he heaved a suitcase onto the back of a truck. This was definitely more trouble than it was worth. Not only was he lifting ridiculously heavy suitcases, he had to go and borrow his friend's truck to move the things to his place. It wouldn't have been possible with his motorcycle.

"I'm staying for two weeks. Did you think I was going to bring just a backpack or something?" Jill demanded sarcastically.

_Damn cheeky kid_, he thought as he tossed on her second bag and slammed the back shut.

"Get in and let's go," he muttered.

The ten minute drive to his apartment was spent in silence. He couldn't see her, since his right side _was_ blind and all, but he could just tell that she was in a sour mood. Heck, he couldn't blame her; after all she was being forced to stay with her father's friend for two weeks. Then again, he wasn't all that pleased either.

When they finally arrived inside his third floor apartment, he threw her luggage into the middle of his living room. Actually, it was the only room, considering it was an apartment. Well, aside from his bedroom and bathroom. The kitchen opened up on the left once you entered and the immediate right was the wall that enclosed the bathroom.

"Sit. Don't touch anyway," he ordered, lifting his sunglasses so that he could fix Jill with his military stare. "I'm going to go return my friend's truck, and then I'll be back to feed you."

"I'm not a dog!" she snapped, plopping down onto his couch, arms crossed and brows drawn together.

"Don't pout at me, kid, I didn't _call_ you a dog. Just don't mess anything up."

Jill frowned and averted her gaze, but he caught what she muttered under her breath: 'It's not like this place could get any messier.'

Haar couldn't help but wonder if _he_ was this snippy when he was young. Actually, now that he thought about it, he probably just never listened to what anyone said to him.

"Funny, Jill. Here's the remote; watch some cartoons or something." He tossed her the remote control before grabbing his keys off the table and heading out the door.

* * *

When he finally parked his motorcycle and got into the elevator, Haar was already stifling yawns. It was only 5:30PM, but he was beat. Then again, he always wanted to sleep… However, his key hadn't quite turned in the lock when a feeling of apprehension washed over him. Somehow, he knew that something not-so-pleasant would happen once he opened the door.

Steeling himself for the worst, he pushed the door open and the first thing he saw was the large window that led to his balcony at the other end of the room. Nothing wrong there. When he turned the corner, however, he realized that his fears… were unfounded. Other than shoving aside a few chairs and the table to give herself room, Jill hadn't done anything. Something _did_ seem different, though.

"… Did you… _clean_ the place?" he asked, dumping his jacket on a chair and looking around.

"Yeah. You didn't expect me to live in a room of dirty clothes, empty food containers and used plates, did you?" she retorted, her eyes not even budging from the T.V. screen.

"I'm going to look over that insult since you _did_ clean up, but watch your mouth next time," he chided lazily, though he said so with a smile. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all…

* * *

Yeah, these chapters are going to be generally short. Also, the beginning section (if no one figured it out) is a short, little journal entry. Each chapter is going to alternate between the two characters. This chapter was Jill's journal, Haar's POV. So next time, it'll be Haar's journal with Jill's POV. The journals are written at the END of the day, but I figured it might have a neat effect if I put them at the beginning of the chapter.

Oscar: Please leave a review and tell us what you think! She'll update soon (for real, since the next few chapters are already written on paper)!

--FireEdge--


	2. Day 2

Well, I hope that I haven't kept everyone waiting! I'm actually really amazed that I'm updating so early.

Oscar: You should stick with this habit.

FireEdge: Probably not happening, but I'll try. Anyway, here's the next chapter for all of you! This one was a bunch of fun to write, so I hope it makes you smile (or laugh at the character, like I usually do).

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 2**

_Saturday, October 14_

_Well, it's been two days now, and I'm still alive and not in an asylum. A great start, I'd say. The kid's not as bad as I thought she was going to be. I mean, every time I've been to Shiharam's for dinner, she always acted politely, but you could tell that she was a feisty one. She always seemed like she was ready to spring out of her chair and… charge somewhere or something. I have to admit, I thought that her arrival would be troublesome, and it was. Still, not nearly as bad as I thought; she can cook for one. The only thing I have to complain about (for now anyway…) is the fact that she's too…excitable. And violent._

—_Haar _

* * *

Jill woke up the next day with the sun streaming through the window and onto her face as well as a sore back. A couch wasn't exactly the most comfortable bed. For several minutes she laid there and stared at the ceiling, wishing that her stay was already over. Finally, with a sigh, she kicked off her blanket and rolled off the couch.

"I'm starved," she said to herself, stretching her limbs and yawning. "I wonder if Haar's awake yet."

Turning away from the balcony window, she stared at the door behind her. If only she could see through walls… Biting her lower lip, she crept to his door and took a deep breath before knocking cautiously. There was no answer. She knocked a little louder, but to no avail. Losing her patience, she carefully opened the door and peered into his room.

Haar's room was plain and undecorated, save for a calendar on the wall and a bulletin board above his desk. Just like the rest of his home had been, clothes were strewn on the floor and a few empty glasses rested on his nightstand. As for Haar himself, his face was buried in his pillow and his blanket didn't quite cover his bare back and shoulders.

With a gasp, she pulled her head back and closed the door. For reasons unknown, her heart was pounding in her chest.

_What are you blushing for, you idiot?!_ she thought, shaking her head. It wasn't like she had never seen a shirtless man before! She went swimming often in the summer and she certainly hadn't been embarrassed then! It was only his shoulders that she saw, too; hardly something to become flustered over. Her mind couldn't help remarking, though, that they were very chiselled shoulders.

Pushing open the door, she poked her head in again and this time she called his name. He didn't so much as stir.

"HAAR!" she said louder this time. Still nothing. Resisting the temptation to walk over and shake him awake, she retreated, not quite closing the door behind her.

"I guess I'll just have to figure out where the food is myself."

After searching through his cupboards and the refrigerator, Jill had assembled a frying pan, spatula, plates and utensils. She then took out some eggs, a carton of milk and a jug of oil she found in one of the cabinets. Jill even discovered a package of breakfast sausages (the kind that you microwave) and there was half a loaf of rye bread on the small kitchen table.

Soon, she was caught up in cooking herself a breakfast of fried eggs and sausages with toast. Jill enjoyed cooking, though she could only make simple dishes. Still, her father was a simple man and he never complained.

"What are you doing?" a groggy voice asked from behind her. She hadn't noticed Haar coming out of his room over the sounds of the sausage sizzling on the pan and the girl jumped slightly, but settled down immediately.

"Making breakfast. What else does it look like?" Jill replied, tipping the food onto two plates. She hadn't realized that she had prepared enough for two. Turning off the stove and setting the pan down in the sink, she picked up the plates and turned to set them down on the table. "Do you want some—YAA!!"

Jill nearly dropped the plates when her eyes set sight on Haar. The man was still half asleep, slumped on his chair with one arm leaning on the table. He was also only dressed in a pair of shorts.

"Wh-What are you _doing_?!" Jill demanded, her voice higher than it usually was. She was uncomfortably aware of her face burning up.

"Hn? What are you yelling for? You're too loud," he retorted with a yawn, pulling a plate towards him.

"Don't you have any decency?! Put some clothes on!" she spluttered, unable to decide whether she should be averting her gaze. It was weird not looking at Haar when she was talking to him, but her face was only turning redder with every second.

"It's my house… apartment."

"You're unbelievable! It doesn't _matter_ if you live here! You're walking around like… like _that_ when you have a teenage girl around!"

"What? You still think guys have cooties or something?" he demanded, giving her a quizzical look. This only made her angrier. "Fine, fine, I'll put a shirt on; if only to shut you up."

Jill sighed in relief when Haar stood up and returned to his room. She sank into a chair and pressed her hands to her cheeks, desperately trying to force them to their original pallor. Luckily, by the time he returned, she was more or less in control of herself. However, she couldn't quite look at him. Her plate was more interesting anyway.

"You happy now? I'm dressed. It's like you've never seen a guy without a shirt on before, what with the way you reacted," he said, taking a bite of the food. "Hey, not bad. Didn't think you knew which end of a spatula to use."

"What kind of thank-you is that?" she snapped, finally looking up to glare at him. "You're lucky I made too much! And for your information, I almost always cook at home! Dad never has time and I'm home by myself a lot. I don't even know why he made me come here this time. He's only gone for two weeks!"

"It's 'cause you're older now. He probably thinks you'll have parties or invite boys over," Haar replied with a shrug.

"You're kidding me," she said flatly.

"Hey, don't look at me! I'm just saying that could be why. Shiharam asked me to do him a favour, and I said yes; I never asked him why. Anyway, I have to head to work in an hour or so… I'll be on time for once. I don't want you hanging around here, so go somewhere."

"Geez, it's not like I'll burn the place down while you're gone or something! I've got plans anyhow; I'm headed to the mall at 1:00," Jill answered, rolling her eyes.

"It's 9:00, what are you going to do 'til then?" he asked.

"Does it matter? What're you so worried for anyway? I won't touch your stuff, if that's what you're getting at!" the girl snapped, starting to become irritated by his interrogation.

"… Good. I guess I'd better give you a key then," he said after a moment.

They finished their meal in silence and soon Haar was off to his job. Jill could hardly believe that Haar had once been a fighter plane pilot just like her father. According to Shiharam, an accident two years back had left him blinded in one eye. The Daein army had decommissioned him after his recovery. The army had no use for crippled or weak men. At least his knowledge of machines and engines had managed to net him a job as a mechanic at a nearby garage.

* * *

Jill soon learned that Haar worked short shifts, for when she returned at 6:00PM, he was already home and washed up. She could just make out the slight smell of a strong smelling shampoo when she passed him.

"I ordered some pizza, if that's all right with you," he said lazily from his position on the couch.

"Healthy, aren't you?" she scoffed, dropping her purse in a corner. Jill seated herself cross-legged on the other end of the couch, half facing him, half facing the television.

"Sorry, princess, but this is the bachelor's life. Anyway, I thought kids loved pizza. No ice cream, though."

"I'm not _five_," she scowled. She hated being treated like a child.

"I know that. It's just fun teasing you. You get flustered so easily, you know?" he replied with a smirk. "Ouch! So much for respect for your elders," he remarked, rubbing the spot where her foot had connected with his rib.

"You're not that old!" Jill retorted with a sniff. She averted her gaze slightly; she hadn't _intended_ to kick him that hard.

"I'm twice your age, kid. I think that qualifies as being your elder."

"Yeah well, you don't act it. Or look it," she replied, realizing too late what she let slip out. Thankfully the doorbell rang right at that moment and he was immediately distracted.

* * *

So, did you all enjoy that chapter? We all knew that Jill would run into a half-naked Haar sometime (so why not the second chapter? XD). Anyway, I was just trying to convey that Jill is (unconsciously) attracted to Haar. She doesn't actually acknowledge the fact, though. It'd probably be pretty awkward for her.

Oscar: What about Haar?

FireEdge: Who knows… Either way, I've decided to make him thirty this time around. I'm pretty sure that he's older in the game, but it's easier this way, I think. So, I hope that this chapter turned out well (and that Haar didn't seem too OOC). Exams start next week, so I don't know when I'll have time to update. I will have the next chapter up by the end of June for sure though, so I'll see you all then.

--FireEdge--


	3. Day 3

Hello everyone! So, school's finally finished (for now) and therefore, I totally slacked and played video games for like a week. XD Anyway, I decided that it was about time to get back to writing, so here's your next chapter!

Oscar: Aren't you forgetting something?

FireEdge: … Oh yeah! Some people didn't really get this, so I figured I should explain it now (just in case). So, this story is strictly AU. It's in a modern setting, so Jill attends high school and is therefore not in the army and rampaging around. The wyverns and pegasi I mentioned before are the names of two different kinds of fighter planes, so it's not the actual flying… beasts (can I call them that?). Also, this doesn't really follow the plot of PoR as in… Ike is NOT a mercenary and going to recruit everyone to take down Ashnard. He's a normal high school boy somewhere in Crimea most likely. Anyway, hope that cleared some things up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 3**

_Sunday, October 15_

_I got an e-mail from Dad today. He said that he won't be able to write anymore until he's back. I'm used to not being able to contact him, but it's still nerve-wracking, even after sixteen years of this same situation. I still can't help but wonder if he'll be all right or if something happened to him. Haar said that the war isn't too serious yet, so Dad should be okay. I know he's only saying that to make me feel better (that's what everyone says). I know that it doesn't matter whether the fighting's bad or not; he could still get killed. I wish that these two weeks were over already._

—_Jill_

* * *

"Dammit, Jill!" Haar exclaimed, banging on the bathroom door with his fist.

"Well, _sorry!_ I'm kind of in the shower!" she yelled back over the sound of the running water.

"Couldn't you have taken one later?!" he growled.

"I thought you were asleep!" she retorted. "Just wait until I'm done!"

The next ten minutes were torture and the bathroom door couldn't have opened any faster. It was at times like these that Haar remembered why he didn't have a roommate. He couldn't help but give her an antagonizing glower when she stalked past him, her possessions in one hand and a towel in the other. She only stared back defiantly.

Eventually, the 'crisis' passed and the two of them settled down for breakfast… or lunch most likely, since it was about half past noon. Both had been too lazy to cook, so toaster waffles rested on their plates. They ate in silence and it wasn't until Jill stood to put her dish in the sink that Haar spoke.

"I'm not working today. Do you need a ride anywhere?" he asked, sipping his coffee.

"No. I have homework to finish," she replied.

"Oh yeah, school. What a good girl. I never did my homework when I was your age."

"Well, I don't plan on joining the army once I graduate," she retorted, draining the last of her glass of milk.

"Hey, not every juvenile delinquent ends up in the army; there are a lot of smart guys in there, too. Your father for instance," Haar answered, gazing at her lazily over the rim of his mug.

"I didn't say that."

"… Either way, you made a good choice. The army's no place for you," he said after a moment of thought. The current king, Ashnard, was ruthless and bloodthirsty. He spent more funding on the army than on anything else, and he treated the soldiers like dogs. If they couldn't fight anymore, they were discarded. A girl like Jill didn't belong in a place like that.

"Anyway, I guess that you don't have work today?" she asked, starting to quickly clean her dishes. She absently took his and washed them as well.

"No, Sunday's my day off. Oh, by the way, you'd better put your old clothes in a pile somewhere. I don't have my own washer and dryer, so I have to use the one on the first floor. I wash my stuff every Sunday, so if you want, I can take yours, too. If not, you'll have to do it yourself," he said.

"I think I'll do it myself. It'd be weird having you wash my clothes," the girl replied, blushing slightly.

"Have it your way," Haar answered with a shrug; at least she couldn't say that he didn't offer. He then pushed his chair back and walked towards his room.

"Oh, um, Haar?" she called to him as she dried her hands on a nearby towel.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have a computer or something? I need one to get my work done."

"… Yeah, I've got a laptop in my room; should be plugged in right now. Go ahead and use it. I'm gonna go get my laundry done."

* * *

"Hey, Haar?" she said, spinning around on his chair. He cracked open one eyelid and looked up from his position on his bed. She had an excited expression on her face.

"What?"

"I just got an e-mail from Dad! He says that he just got to the base near Riven Bridge. They're getting deployed soon, though, so he says that he won't be able to keep in touch."

"… Well, that's how it is," he answered, not entirely sure how to respond. The teenager looked both happy and sad. He supposed that she missed Shiharam. "He say anything else?"

"No, just that he loved me and that I shouldn't give you any trouble."

Haar snorted, receiving a glare from Jill.

"Ahem. Want to scoot off for a sec? I want to check my mail."

She grudgingly stood and let him log onto his own inbox. However, he could tell that she was looking over his shoulder.

"It's rude to read people's mail," he chided. Normally he could care less, but he didn't want her seeing anything Shiharam might've written him.

"Who's Sigrun?" she asked instead. "Is she your girlfriend? The subject's: 'Hello, love'."

"I don't have a girlfriend, she's just joking around," he replied automatically. Haar couldn't help but notice that he said that so often that it was like a reflex.

"Huh, I guess that was a stupid question. I mean, you live by yourself… Still, don't you get lonely, being here all by yourself? Most guys your age are already married," Jill remarked, blissfully unaware of exactly _how_ inappropriate her comment was.

"… It's not like I never had a girlfriend, I just don't have one _now_. Anyway, I'm not about to start discussing my love life with you, so shoo! I'll call you back when I'm done," he answered. Somehow, he just couldn't help but feel a bit of self-pity… for various reasons.

"Yes, sir!" she chimed before making herself scarce.

Once he was sure that she'd gone, he let out a long sigh. What had he done to deserve this? He couldn't help but wonder if Ashera hated him… There was no other explanation for him having to put up with Jill and her… antics? Strangeness? Ability to make him wince? Whatever…

Turning to his monitor, he realized that he had three new e-mails. One was from his boss at the garage. He didn't bother to read the subject and promptly clicked the 'Delete' button. The man then proceeded to open the e-mail from Sigrun. He had just sent her a message a few days ago, asking her about Begnion's activities.

_Hello there, Haar. I'm sure you're aware that Begnion has now allied herself with Crimea. Still, I thought that you'd still like an update. The senate, at the empress' urging I believe, has decided to send several legions of the Holy Guard, including my own, to the border between Crimea and Daein. I will arrive in a couple of days. Also, expect some trouble on the southern front; I believe that the main army is going to be deployed there. Unfortunately that is all I can tell you. I have to say, though, that I'm glad that you're no longer in the army. I'd hate to have to fight you. I might come up against Commander Shiharam, however, judging by what you told me the other day. I sincerely hope it does not come to that. Just in case, I wanted to remind you how dear a friend you are to me. I hope that I will live to speak to you again._

_Sigrun_

_P.S. Take good care of Shiharam's daughter, and good luck with her—I heard she's feisty._

"Nice wording, woman, you make it sound like I'm marrying her," he muttered under his breath. He knew that he shouldn't have mentioned having to watch Jill. Still, despite her light-hearted words, he knew that his friend was just as worried as he was. Haar couldn't understand why Daein had even started a war with Crimea. Sure, they were never on good terms, but to start a _war_. All he could think to blame was the king's power-hungry ambition.

Returning to his inbox, he proceeded to open the e-mail from Shiharam, for he had received word from him as well. The contents of Haar's e-mail were much graver than Jill's however.

_Haar,_

_It seems that the situation is as bad as I thought. The regions around Riven Bridge are empty no man's land (I don't even want to imagine what happened to the citizens living there) and planes are constantly flying overhead. Word from higher up says that my unit will be dispatched shortly to take out these scouts. Apparently those Pegasi are keeping us from laying any ambushes. Normally, I wouldn't be too worried, since Crimea's planes are pretty old, but Begnion's troops will be arriving any day now…_

_I won't have a chance to contact you, or Jill, again until after these next two weeks. However, if worse comes to worse, I will be able to send you a letter. Please take care of Jill for me (though I'm sure that I don't need to ask)._

_-Shiharam_

"Can I come back in?" Jill called from the doorway.

"… Yeah, I'm done," he replied, closing his inbox and standing up.

"Did Dad say anything?" she asked curiously, her magenta eyes looking up at him innocently.

"Just said that he won't be able to contact us again until his mission's up," Haar answered. It was a good thing that he was good at lying… Not that he was _lying_ per se.

"Oh."

"… Shiharam will be fine. Don't worry about it," he said, putting his hand on her head and ruffling her hair. As annoying as it was when she was angry or irritated (or even when she was happy), her sad face just didn't sit well with him. "C'mon, I'll take you out for supper; you've been working too hard today. Where do you want to go?"

* * *

Well, that turned out longer that I expected… Anyway, this chapter was more of an informative than anything, but it was necessary, I believe. The only thing I'm kind of sketchy about is Jill. I've been making her personality/moods jump everywhere. Whoops. Hope that didn't make her too OOC…

Anyhow, I'm leaving on vacation for a month in July, but I should have another chapter up before I leave. So see you all soon.

Oscar: Leave a review!

--FireEdge--


	4. Day 4

While I did say that I was going to calm Jill down a bit, I must warn you that she's rather… irrational this chapter. But that's only because she's in a bad mood. As you'll soon see.

Oscar: So enjoy, I suppose.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 4**

_Monday, October 16_

_So, I'm pretty sure the kid was ticked off at me for forgetting to tell her I wasn't going to be around this morning. She refused to talk to me the entire day. Didn't even call me to tell me that she didn't need a ride home; made me worry about where the hell she had gotten herself to. Another reason to never have kids… Anyway, I finally got her to talk (I'm starting to get use to having a constant droning in the background…) when I threatened to toss her things out the window. I can't believe she fell for it; my landlord would kick me out for sure if I did that. Only after mutilating me, of course. And making me pay for any potential lawsuits should I kill someone doing so. _

—_Haar_

* * *

"He's unbelievable!!" Jill exclaimed, nearly ripping the piece of paper in half. The poor, inanimate object really didn't deserve that fate. It had but conveyed Haar's message to her (quite faithfully at that).

_Sorry, forgot to tell you that I had to get to work early today. Here's some money for the bus. Call me when you need to be picked up._

_-Haar_

Jill could not begin to fathom _how_ the man had forgotten to mention this to her last night. Did he not realize that the bus didn't just _arrive_ whenever she wanted it to? In fact, she had just missed the one that would get her to school on time.

"Argh!"

If the piece of paper could speak, it would be screaming in agony. Of course, since it couldn't, Jill let it fall to floor in two pieces without a second thought. She then proceeded to dashing out of the door.

* * *

Mondays were most definitely _the _worst day of the week, many a student would agree. Jill Fizzart was the exception. She never found a difference between the first school day of the week and the last school day of the week. They both ran the same; school never really changed. However, today, Jill felt the bitter sting of the Monday syndrome.

No thanks to a certain person, Jill had arrived twenty minutes late for her first period class (which just _happened _to be Pre-Calculus). She had missed almost all of the notes and had to copy a friend's, which of course took up the precious in-class work time. Jill would now have an unnecessary amount of homework that night.

As if that weren't bad enough, her Science class was also a disaster. For some unfortunate reason, Jill was paired up with a boy named Lucas for their chemistry experiment. Lucas was a boy with a short attention span, and a tendency to do stupid things. Jill had turned away for less than five seconds. This would prove to be a grave mistake.

When she turned back, Lucas had stuck a large strip of magnesium into the flame of the Bunsen burner. The consequent flash of light blinded Jill for that fraction of a second that was needed for her hand to knock over the beaker situated near the edge of the counter. This beaker happened to contain their experiment. They received a 0.

"Wow, Jill, I thought that you didn't like the cafeteria food," her friend Nicola remarked as Jill paid for her lunch.

"I don't, but I didn't have time to pack a lunch this morning," Jill replied. _Not that there's any food in the fridge anyway…_

As she turned to walk towards a table, someone bumped into her and, subsequently, her plate of fries, and the chicken burger with it, scattered onto the floor.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" the boy that ran into her exclaimed. "I didn't mean to bump into you! Here, let me buy you a new lunch!"

Jill didn't hear what the boy said to her. Her brain was too busy rerunning her horrible morning. No matter how many times she went over it, she came to the same conclusion every time: it _all _started with that note.

"Jill? Jill?" Nicola asked, shaking her shoulder.

"I'm not hungry. I'll talk to you later," Jill replied haltingly.

The magenta-haired teenager bolted out of the cafeteria and out of the school. Once she was out of doors, the young woman proceeded to kick the wall, ignoring the shock of pain being sent up her foot. Letting out a long breath through her nose, she sat down and closed her eyes. At least she had something to look forward to _after_ school.

* * *

"Oww," Jill groaned, rubbing her nose. The blow from the volleyball still smarted. Well, of course it did, she _did_ get spiked in the face. Thankfully, it hadn't been broken.

Jill couldn't remember having a worse volleyball practice; or a worse day. After her horrid day of school, she had been looking forward to her after-school volleyball practice. She was always able to lose herself in the rigorous exercise that sports demanded. Perhaps she had lost herself _too_ much; Jill hadn't seen the ball until it had collided with her face.

Letting out a sigh, she shouldered her backpack and walked out the front doors, preparing herself for the bus ride back to Haar's apartment. Going back there wasn't exactly what she wanted at the moment. After all, it was _his_ fault that she was having such a bad day.

As she began to make her way down the street, her cell phone rang. Pulling it out of her sweater pocket, she checked the caller I.D.; it was Haar. She almost debated not picking up since he was the last person she wanted to talk to. Still, she supposed she couldn't avoid him forever…

"Hello?"

"Jill, where are you?"

"… At school."

"It's 6:00," came the flat reply.

"I had volleyball practise," she answered, trying to keep her tone emotionless.

"Why didn't you call? I've been trying to reach you since 4:00," Haar's voice sounded irritated. "Do you know what your father would do to me if I let something happen to you?"

"Sorry! I forgot to call!" she lied. "Dad usually knows that I have practise on Mondays! Anyway, I can take care of myself!"

"… You're pissed," he stated.

"N-No, I'm not!" Jill stammered, caught off-guard. How did he know?!

"Yes, you are. Is it about this morning?"

"N-NO! My-My bus is here! Bye," she said quickly, hanging up, her face red. The street was empty.

* * *

"Still the silent treatment?" Haar asked. Jill didn't so much as glance up from her Math homework. "Look, I apologized, didn't I? … …If that's how you want to play it, that's fine with me."

As Haar moved away from the table, Jill sneaked a glance from under her bangs. He had walked over towards the couch where she slept and was staring at something on the floor. If she didn't know any better, she would think that he was looking at her luggage.

"Well, since there's obviously no one else here, I can get rid of this junk. It's taking up my precious space," he said aloud.

Jill's head snapped up and glared at the brown-haired man. She nearly opened her mouth to say something, but caught herself at the last moment. He was bluffing! However, much to her annoyance, he only gazed back at her, unruffled.

Then, he smirked and, with a grunt, he picked up her suitcase and walked towards his balcony. Setting the baggage down on the floor for a moment, he opened the window and stepped outside, the suitcase right behind him.

"… Hope there's no one under here," he remarked in a non-chalant tone. Lifting up the suitcase, he balanced it precariously on the ledge; only one arm kept the whole thing from toppling over the edge.

"N-No! Don't!" Jill cried, now knowing that he _wasn't_ kidding. She jumped up and scrambled over to the window, grabbing her suitcase.

"Oh, so _now_ you talk," he said, one eyebrow raised. She glared at him and frowned, lowering her gaze.

"… I had a bad day," Jill mumbled, still staring at the floor.

"And that's my fault, how?"

"… It's not…" she admitted grudgingly as Haar lifted her suitcase back into the apartment.

"Then stop acting like it is," he replied, shutting the window.

"Sorry—AHH!" Jill shrieked as Haar suddenly hefted her onto his shoulder and tossed her onto the couch in one swift movement. It took her a moment to overcome the vertigo caused by the throw and when she righted herself, her heart was still pounding.

"Hope that cleared your head," he said with yawn.

"Y-Yeah…"

* * *

So, the point of this chapter would be… Haar teaching Jill a lesson. I guess I was trying to show that Haar's insightful? Really, though, I just wanted to write a chapter where Jill had a shitastic day.

Oscar: How very… um… I don't even know what to say to that.

FireEdge: Yeeeah, me neither. Anyway, there _is_, you know, a slight deeper meaning to this chapter, but you really don't need to read into it. This was mostly just a fun chapter. Oh, and you probably won't be seeing an update until August. I'm leaving in a few days (for about three weeks), and while I MAY have access to a computer and internet, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to update. Either way, see you guys… eventually.

Oscar: Leave a review!

--FireEdge--


	5. Day 5

I'm baaack!! Did anyone miss me?

Oscar: Not particularly.

FireEdge: Well, that's not very nice.

Oscar: Umm, I didn't miss you because I live in your head. I'm ALWAYS with you.

FireEdge: Huh, makes sense. Now that I think about it, you're usually gallivanting around my brain, aren't you? Anyway, I had a fun vacation, and I got in some writing, too. So, here's the update you've all been waiting for!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 5**

_Tuesday, October 17_

_So, apparently, Haar has the same disposition towards vegetables as a five year-old. I made some broccoli and peas to go with our macaroni and he kinda gave them the evil eye. It wasn't until a put some melted cheese on them that he actually ate it without a huge frown on his face. It was kind of funny, actually. I laughed so hard that I choked. Anyway, strangely enough, I think that I'm starting to get used to living with him. But when we go out we get weird looks. It's pretty embarrassing…_

—_Jill _

* * *

"Why are there no waffles left?" Haar asked, looking into the empty waffle box.

"Ummm, I ate them?" Jill answered innocently, putting her plate in the sink. He had no doubt as to what had occupied that dish mere minutes ago. If only he had gotten up a few minutes earlier…

With a sigh, he opened the fridge and scanned its contents. Half a carton of eggs, a litre of milk (which probably wasn't full), two apples and a distinct lack of vegetables… He really needed to go shopping. Taking out an apple, he shut the door and opened his pantry instead. At least he had cereal…

"Can you pick me up today? I don't have volleyball, so…" Jill said, stuffing a textbook into her bag along with a cheese sandwich she had just made.

"… What time?" he asked, pouring the cornflakes into a bowl.

"School's out at 3:30," she answered, passing him the milk carton as she snagged the last apple. "Your fridge is really empty, you know."

"It would be twice as full if I didn't have to share with a certain someone."

"Well sorry if I need food to live!"

* * *

"I'm taking off now," Haar said, seeing that it was 3:00 PM.

"Huh? Why so early?" his co-worker asked, looking up from the engine of a car.

"I've got something going on these next two weeks or so," Haar replied, cleaning up his work station. "I'll be taking off early until it's over."

"Really? What is it?"

"None of your business," he replied.

By the time that Haar pulled up in front of Jill's school, it was 3:35 PM. Jill was nowhere in sight, so he put his motorcycle into park and turned off the engine. Leaning against the seat, he crossed his arms and waited, his shaded eyes lazily watching students walk bye. More than a few of them eyed him curiously. He couldn't blame them; it probably wasn't very often that they saw someone with a motorcycle at school. It probably didn't help that he looked like a mobster with his sunglasses, messy hair and black jacket.

"Haar, do you have to look so conspicuous?" Jill hissed as she stopped in front of him.

"Why? Do I stick out?" he asked with a smirk.

"Let's just go before someone I know spots me…"

"Here, put this helmet on and hold on tight," he said as he passed her a helmet. Jill looked at it dubiously. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

As soon as he felt Jill's hands grip his shoulders, he immediately took off. However, it seemed he had gone too fast, too quickly, for Jill let out a yelp and he felt her arms trying to crush his ribcage. He couldn't help but laugh to himself when he imagined the look on her face: white as a sheet.

Glancing at his speedometer, he noticed that he was still below the speed limit. This was soon rectified.

Ten minutes later, he pulled into his apartment's parking lot. When he was settled in his lot, Jill immediately got off and took a few stumbling steps, one arm braced against the wall.

"You're not gonna hurl, are you?" he asked lightly, removing his helmet. "'Cause I'd like you to remove your helmet before you did that."

"I-I'm fine!" she retorted, handing him the helmet. "Just… Just did you have to go that… fast?"

"No, but I figured that you wanted to get home as soon as possible," Haar answered with a shrug. "Also, we need to go grocery shopping."

"Um, _we_?" she inquired as they walked towards the elevator.

"You're eating the food, too, aren't you? So you're helping me get it," he replied offhandedly. "After all, I'm buying twice as much, so I'll need twice as many hands to carry it all."

"That's an… interesting way of putting it. Not saying that I don't want to come, but aren't you taking your motorcycle, anyway?"

"No, we're walking. There's a small grocer's five minutes away. Why waste perfectly good gas for such a short distance?" Haar let out a yawn as the elevator door slid open to his floor. "C'mon, dump your stuff off and let's go. The sooner we're back, the sooner I can take a nap."

* * *

Haar now realized that there was a downside to small, family-run grocery stores. The reason being that the owners knew most of their customers. Since they were familiar with Haar, they also knew that he was a mechanic who lived in a nearby complex. Alone. Thus, entering said store accompanied by a loud, sixteen year-old girl was, well, awkward.

"Hey there, Haar," James, the owner, greeted as the two of them stepped in. "Ah, who's this?"

"I'm Jill Fizzart, sir," Jill said, shaking his hand politely.

"She's my friend's daughter. I'm… babysitting her, so to speak," added Haar, grabbing a basket.

"Ah, is that so? I thought that she was a little young to be your girlfriend," James laughed. "Well, anyway, young lady, the name's James McIntosh."

"We're just here to pick some stuff up, so…" Haar said before handing Jill a basket and heading down an aisle.

As he walked, he glanced down at Jill. Her face was rather pensive.

"I'm surprised that you didn't blow a gasket when I said that I was baby-sitting you," he remarked as they approached the dairy section.

"W-Well, I _don't_ appreciate you saying that, since I certainly don't need to be baby-sat," Jill replied, a bit startled by his voice, it seemed. "But, um, that was pretty, uh…" Her voice trailed off and he thought that he noticed her face turning the slightest shade of red.

"Took the words right out of my mouth. We'll just have to watch ourselves, or we'll give people the wrong impression."

Haar took a carton of milk from the shelf and examined the expiry date before tossing it into his basket. Next went a block of cheese and a dozen eggs.

"Ah, Haar, could we get some yogurt, too?" Jill asked, picking up a package of yogurt cups. "I could use them for lunch."

"Go ahead," he said with a nod before moving away.

A few minutes later, their baskets were laden with two loafs of bread, a couple of boxes of macaroni, a pack of bacon, a bag of apples and, of course, instant waffles. Jill had also picked up a few items herself; namely a box of granola bars, juice and a package of cold cuts.

"… Hmm, I think that's it," Haar remarked, scanning the contents of the two baskets. He was surprised that they managed to fit everything into them.

"You're not serious?" Jill asked dryly, one eyebrow raised.

"What, kid? You got something to say?" he demanded.

"What about vegetables?"

"What about them?" he said after a moment's pause.

"… Haar, you realize that you need fruits and vegetables, right?" Jill stated, giving him a look not unlike the ones given to him by his mother (when she was alive, Ashera rest her soul).

"Yeah, and we've got apples."

"Unbelievable," the girl sighed before heading off to the fresh produce aisle.

Haar rolled his eyes lazily before following her. Once there, Jill thrusted her basket at him and immediately began looking over a head of lettuce. He couldn't help but remark that she looked very… cute as she next examined carrots, peas and broccoli. Her thin brows were drawn together as she contemplated the vegetables in front of her. For some reason this reminded him of Shiharam. Maybe it was because he looked exactly as she did when he consulted a map or battle plan.

"C'mon, Jill, that's enough. If you buy any more, I'll turn into a freakin' rabbit."

* * *

So, am I the only one who thinks that A) Haar would automatically look like a gangster if he were to dress in modern clothes and B) that he would dislike eating vegetables and therefore be a total carnivore?

Oscar: I don't know, you're pretty… eccentric.

FireEdge: Anyway, this was another rather light-hearted and (intended to be) comical chapter, but next chapter I think I'm going to start working in some more stuff about the war. We'll see what happens…

Oscar: Leave a review and she'll update soon!

--FireEdge--


	6. Day 6

Sooo, you know how I said that I'd add some stuff about the war this chapter?

Oscar: So you're not, right?

FireEdge: Yeah. I kinda realized that this is a Jill chapter, so it wouldn't really work. I mean, I stuck in a little in Haar's journal, but other than that, this ended up being a funny chapter again. I swear that I'll do it next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 6**

_Wednesday, October 18_

_With Jill out, my apartment has never been so quiet. It's amazing. Still, I suppose that I'm rather lucky that she made plans. This way, I don't have to distract her from the television. Really, though, I don't know how I intend to keep this up. Things have started to heat up at the Daein-Begnion border; the Central Army's begun to set up camp there. It seems that Crimea and Begnion intend to box us in… I haven't heard anything about Shiharam's unit, though. I can only assume that it means they are still alive. _

—_Haar _

* * *

"A movie? Tonight?" Jill asked, swallowing a spoonful of yogurt.

"Yeah! It's the premiere of this new horror movie starring Tom Hart! It's called 'The One-Eyed Man'," Nicola replied, saying the last sentence in what she hoped to be an eerie voice. "Me, the twins, Zihark and Ilyana are going for pizza and then to the theatre after. So, you wanna come?"

"Sure, I guess. I don't think I'm doing anything… But, um, I need to phone Haar…" she said, immediately regretting opening her mouth.

"Haar? Who's that? Is he your boyfriend? Why haven't you told me?!" her friend demanded, her eyes glittering dangerously. Her brown curls bounced on her shoulders as she leaned in to stare Jill in the face.

"No, no, no. That's not it!" Jill exclaimed, her face flushing at the thought of going out with Haar. Never mind the fact that he was twice her age, she just couldn't imagine him acting like someone's boyfriend! No way could Haar ever be romantic!

Suddenly, her mind began to re-enact a scene out of some movie she had seen recently (a chick-flick, no doubt). The brown-haired young man (who looked _strangely_ familiar) came up to the door and rang the doorbell. The red-headed girl that answered was immediately presented with a long-stemmed rose and a kiss on the cheek.

"NO! DEFINITELY NO!"

"Aww, Jill, you're blushing! That's so cute!" Nicola cooed, pinching the other girl's cheeks. "You don't have to hide it from me! Hey, was it that guy who picked you up yesterday? He looked pretty cool, with that bike and all. Ooh, I get why you haven't told anyone! He looked much older than you; must've been twenty at least! No, maybe a little more than that! Way to _go_, Jill, didn't know you had it in ya!"

"No! No! You've got it all wrong!! He's not my boyfriend!" Jill protested, her voice nearly a squeak she was so panicked. _Oh, you don't even know how wrong you are!! He's not even twenty! Try tacking on another decade!_ Jill wanted to crawl into a hole. Why was it that her best friend had such an overactive imagination?

"Uh huh, because some random guy's just gonna pick you up from school. Are you gonna try and convince me that he's actually your dad who dyed his hair and got plastic surgery?"

"No! Here, just listen! My dad's off to Crimea right now, so… so his friend's been giving me a ride home and checking up on me! That's why I said I needed to call him; to tell him I don't need a ride," Jill explained, completely out of breath by the end of her speech.

"Well why didn't you just say so?" Nicola asked, rolling her eyes.

"Wh-What? _You're_ the one who was jumping to conclusions!" Jill accused.

"You know, you sure are making a pretty big fuss over someone who's supposedly 'just your dad's friend'."

"Okay, I'm leaving!"

"I'm just kidding!! Just go and phone him already!" Nicola cried, grabbing a hold of Jill's ankle as the other girl tried to get up and run away.

Jill eyed her friend suspiciously, but finally nodded. Taking out her cell phone, she moved a short distance away. After dialing his number, she began to wonder if he was busy and she shouldn't be phoning at all. He _was_ at work…

"You're lucky I'm on my lunch break, kid," said the stern voice coming from her phone.

"Oh, um, sorry. Anyway, I figured I should phone to tell you that you don't need to pick me up today. I'm going to head to Nicola's and we're going out with some friends after."

"… Huh… I wanted to go to this restaurant tonight."

"Um, then go?" Jill replied, somewhat confused. Did he just change the subject or was that somehow related to what she was talking about? Or maybe he was saying that he was going to treat her to supper? "It's not like you need me there to eat."

"… No, we'll go tomorrow. They have a special this week where you can get two steaks for the price of one, but there actually has to be two people, you know."

"But I don't like steak…" she said automatically.

"I know that."

It took Jill approximately three seconds to register the connotation behind his words. She wasn't very happy.

"So you want to _use_ me to get more food at a cheaper price?" she asked, feeling slightly offended. "Eating that much steak at once can't be good for you, either!"

"Would you be less angry if I said 'no' and I really just wanted to take you out?" She could hear him yawn on the other end of the line. Somehow, that killed any sincerity he had attempted to work into his reply.

"I'm not angry!"

"Sure, if you say so. Now, unlike someone I know, I need to go back to work. So, I won't pick you up today and you'll get back yourself?"

"Wh-What? Oh, um, yeah. We're going to a movie," Jill stammered, a little disconcerted by the quick change of subject.

"I'll see you later, then… Don't stay out too late. I don't want your dad to think I let you run around all night." Click. He had hung up.

"So, you coming tonight, then?" Nicola asked as Jill sat down on the grass beside her.

"Yeah."

* * *

"See you tomorrow," Zihark said as the group of friends left the movie theatre. Ilyana waved half-heartedly and the two of them headed down the street to where the silver-haired teen had parked his car.

"You're sure you don't need a ride home?" Nicola asked as she turned to face Jill. "Jorge and Daniel drove here, too."

"Yeah, we can give you a lift. Your house isn't too far from where we live," Daniel added.

"No, I'm fine! You know it's just a short bus ride to my house," Jill replied casually.

"You're sure?" Jorge asked, seeming a bit dejected.

"Positive," she answered flatly.

"… Well, okay. See you tomorrow, then," Nicola replied as she and the twins walked off in the opposite direction.

As soon as her friends had left, Jill let out a sigh and quickly made her way to the nearby bus stop. If she was dropped off at home, she'd only have to find a way back to Haar's apartment. Also, there was NO WAY she was going to let her friends find out that she was staying there. She could already imagine the rumours that would spread about her… Anyway, she certainly _did_ _not_ want to ride in the same car as Jorge.

The twins and Zihark were two years older than Nicola and herself, but they still enjoyed going out with them. In fact, Jill rather liked Zihark and Daniel (as well as Ilyana, Zihark's girlfriend), however she wasn't too keen about Jorge. The blond was a well-known flirt at their school and he seemed to have taken a liking to her. In fact, she had to sit beside him the entire movie, constantly shrugging his arm off her shoulders.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was quarter to 10:00 PM. The bus to Haar's would be arriving any time now. Good, she wanted to get home as soon as possible; night had set in and the streets were already dark. It wasn't that she was scared, but Jill had to admit that she _was_ a little jumpy. The movie had been more frightening (and gorier) than she had thought it would be.

The image of the One-Eyed Man, a tall, imposing figure with messy hair and an eye patch, was burned into her memory. Especially the part where he would gouge out one of the victim's eyes before he killed them. Jill shuddered.

Finally, the transit bus pulled up to the curb and Jill jumped on. Ten minutes later she signalled for the bus to stop and was dropped off across the street from Haar's apartment complex. The street lamps casted odd shadows on the sidewalk and on the sides of the buildings. It was too similar to the movie for Jill's liking.

Quickly checking for cars, Jill crossed the road and was soon outside Haar's door, fumbling through her bag for the key. Turning it in the lock, she pushed the door open quietly and was greeted with darkness.

_Good thing I didn't ring the doorbell; he must be asleep already._ She closed the front door without making too much noise and put her bag down as she made her way to the bathroom to wash up. However, at this instant, a tall, imposing figure with messy hair emerged from a nearby doorway.

"Ahh!" Jill screamed as the man suddenly appeared in front of her.

"What's wrong with you?" Haar demanded.

"S-Sorry, you scared me," she stammered, realizing that the figure was indeed Haar and not an eye patch-toting murderer. "W-Why are all the lights off if you're awake?"

"I wasn't. Until you opened the front door that is," he replied, stifling a yawn.

"What? But I didn't even make that much noise," the teenager protested.

"I was in the army for ten years, Jill. They trained us to sleep lightly and to wake up at the slightest suspicious noise," Haar answered coolly.

"B-But that doesn't make any sense! You _never_ wake up when I call you!" Jill exclaimed.

"Ah… well, there are some things I choose to… ignore…"

"_Excuse_ me?!" she demanded indignantly.

"So, how was your night? Did you have fun?"

* * *

Props (and cookies) to those who got my very obvious joke. I don't even know where the hell I pulled that idea from.

Oscar: Your brain, no doubt. It's littered with strange notions… and shiny objects and little fluffy bunnies. I bump into them constantly; the ideas that is.

FireEdge: Er… thanks for the insight into my mind. So, hope you guys enjoyed that (even if it was so short). Oh, and, as I'm sure you've noticed, I decided to give a few other PoR characters a cameo. As for why I used those specific characters… Well, they were the only ones around Jill's age that could be "citizens" of Daein (well, Zihark is part of Daein, according to RD). Anyway, next chapter should prove to be more interesting and informative than this one. I hope.

--FireEdge--


	7. Day 7

All right, I'm back with the last chapter of the summer. Argh, summer's almost over…

Oscar: There, there.

FireEdge: Anyway, this time around there IS actually something about the war—the whole chapter, really. Now, whether the content is actually _useful_ or relevant is questionable.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 7**

_Thursday, October 19_

_Wow, I can't believe it. I've been here for a week now. It's alarming, but I have to admit that I've pretty much become used to this apartment. When I think about going "home", I think of here… Yeah, I definitely can't wait until Dad's back so that I can live in my own house again. Unfortunately there's still a whole week left before he's back. And who knows, they might extend his mission, too! It's driving me crazy that I can't find out how he's doing. I don't even know why I'm so anxious this time around! I just hope that he comes back safely. _

—_Jill _

* * *

"Hey, Haar," one of his coworkers greeted as the former walked into the break room.

"Caleb," Haar returned, sitting down on the other side of the table. Reaching behind him, he grabbed his water bottle.

"So, you hear about the war?" the younger man asked.

"… Hasn't everyone?" Haar replied warily. He noticed that there was a glint of excitement in Caleb's eyes; the other man loved gossip and news.

"Well, obviously. You'd have to live under a rock to not have heard about it," Caleb agreed. "What I meant was did you hear about what happened _yesterday_."

"No. What happened?" he lied, regarding Caleb lazily.

"Well, apparently Begnion's Central Army annihilated the border patrol in the south. We're gonna send in half the main force to defend against them next week. But get this, rumour has it that they're recruiting like crazy to… replenish numbers," Caleb said. "Actually, if they don't get enough new recruits, they might even start conscripting."

"Hmph. Numbers won't do anything. Begnion's got strong and brilliant generals. If Daein is relying on quantity rather than quality, we're losing for sure," Haar muttered.

"You think so? Oh, that's right; you used to be with the air force, right? You gonna answer the call for more soldiers? I'm sure they'd like to have a veteran."

"… I don't want anything to do with the army. And even if I did, they wouldn't take me back anyway. They've got no use for an old, crippled dog," the brown-haired man retorted with a yawn.

"Hmm. Yeah, I don't think I'd like to serve in the army either. I mean, they pay well, but I don't think I'm ready to die for my country. Being a mechanic is much easier… and safer," Caleb said, stroking his chin. "Oh yeah, did you watch the news this morning?"

"No, I had to leave early to… deliver something before I came to work. Why do you have so much time on your hands, anyway?"

"Oh, I always watch the news while I eat breakfast," he answered offhandedly. "Point is they said that the air force over by Crimea's getting beaten badly. Only a few units are intact, apparently. The ground troops there aren't doing too great, either. I think we're gonna lose our hold on the border before long; not that the army would ever admit that."

"… Are they sending more troops there, then?" Haar asked, feeling his chest compress uncomfortably.

"I don't know. The broadcast made it sound kinda like there was no way for us to regain ground. Sorta like they just wanted to say they were abandoning the Riven area."

Haar nodded absently, ignoring whatever Caleb said next. His mind was busy rerunning what the man had just told him. _So, Riven's almost done for then…_

"… Well, it's about quarter after. I'm leaving," Haar stated, pushing his chair back.

"What? Oh, right, see you tomorrow then."

* * *

Haar frowned at his laptop monitor. After picking up Jill, he had decided to do a little more research on how the war was progressing. Sure enough, the results reflected what he had been told by Caleb. However, much to his aggravation, he could not find anything else about how the troops were faring at Riven Bridge. All he found was that Begnion's air force had shot down more than half of the remaining Daein units. Only three known Wyvern squadrons were accounted for.

_Shiharam's still alive…_

A sudden knock at his bedroom door caused his head to shoot up and he immediately slammed his laptop closed. Swivelling around on his chair, he stood up and strode to the door. When he opened it, a little more abruptly then he had intended to, a startled Jill looked up at him.

"Yeah?"

"Oh, um, are we still going out for supper? I'm getting hungry and I was going to make something, but…"

"Hmm, yeah, let's go," he agreed after a moment of thought. He had nearly forgotten.

The drive to the restaurant was rather uneventful and Haar barely spoke to Jill at all (not that he really could, over the roar of the engine). His mind was still on the war. He couldn't believe that it had escalated so quickly; the rumours about conscription were frighteningly possible. The death toll of soldiers was more than 2000 just this past week. It was unbelievable.

As Haar stopped for a red light, he suddenly became aware of the warmth around his torso. Jill's arms were wrapped tightly around him. Ever since her first, and rather unpleasant, experience she hung on for dear life every time she was forced to ride behind him. This reminded him of something else; how would he shield her from all of this?

At the rate that the war was progressing, it wouldn't be long before Jill realized exactly how bad the situation was, no matter how hard he tried to hide it from her. Then, once she figured that out, she would start worrying about her father. He could already imagine the expression on her face. Her eyebrows drawn together and there would be a sad, worried frown upon her features. For reasons unknown, the mere thought of that made him grimace and it churned his stomach uncomfortably.

However, he paid this no more attention as they pulled into the parking lot of The Lion's Den. Most of the spots were full; they _did_ have a special on, after all.

"That's an… interesting name," Jill remarked as they walked up to the entrance.

"It's actually pretty popular as a family restaurant, believe it or not," he replied. For now he would just have to forget about the war. If he appeared even one bit disconcerted, Jill would pick it up right away; she was sharper than she looked… sometimes.

Stepping inside, they were immediately assaulted by noise. The chattering of dozens of people and the 'clink' of cutlery on plates rang through the air. They could barely hear the waitress trying to seat them. However the atmosphere felt homey and warm. The fact that it smelled like well-seasoned steaks didn't hurt, either.

Soon, they were seated at a small table with menus as well as a promise of two glasses of water. Haar didn't even bother to look at the menu; he was getting the steak special, whether Jill was eating it or not. It was the only reason he was here. Jill on the other hand seemed to be having a hard time deciding what she wanted. Eventually she decided on the restaurant's special fish filet burger with a side of roasted potatoes and salad.

After placing their orders, they were of course left to stare at each other in an awkward silence (accompanied by loud, droning background noise). This was the first time that they had eaten out together. He had otherwise only taken her out to pick up some fast food. Jill eventually broke the silence.

"So, have you got something on your mind?" she asked, swirling around the straw in her glass. "You've been kinda spacey today. More than usual, I mean."

"… You're pretty sharp. It's only been a week and you're picking up on my quirks? Guess you _are_ Shiharam's daughter," he remarked wryly, tilting his head to the side slightly so that he could observe her with his good eye.

"What's that supposed to mean? Did you think I _wasn't_ his daughter before?" she retorted.

"No, I'm just saying that you've gotten more observant. Your father was always able to tell if I was lying to him," Haar answered, a little surprised that he had said the second half of his statement.

"Umm, I… I guess I just got used to staying with you now," she mumbled.

Cute, she was blushing.

"Well, either way, don't worry your pretty little head off. I'm just tired from work," he lied.

"Oh," she said. "That's kind of surprising. I didn't think you tried so hard."

"Hmm, I'll give you that one. But it's pretty hard _not_ to try when you're doing heavy lifting like I was today," he answered. Surprisingly, it wasn't a complete lie; he _had_ been lifting machine parts that day.

"By the way, did you hear anything from Dad recently?" Jill asked. Talk about sudden change of subject.

"… No. He doesn't have access to a computer, remember?"

"Well, I know, but there's always a chance…" she replied quietly, clearly disappointed.

"Look, I already told you that he's going to be fine. Shiharam's a tough, old mule; you don't need to worry about it. You should focus on school or something," he said. It seemed that she was already uneasy even when she didn't know anything about the war. He couldn't even imagine how she would react, being as emotional as she was, if she found out the truth.

"You'll tell me if you receive any word of him, right?"

Haar regarded her closely before answering. With her eyebrows ever-so-slightly drawn down and her mouth set in a grim line, she looked exactly like Shiharam. The one exception being that her—though determined—stare was vulnerable; right now she was a young girl who couldn't find her father.

"… Yeah, I will," he answered, even though he knew that he wouldn't. "Ah!"

His good eye caught sight of some movement and he turned his head to see that the waitress was coming with their meal. He could already smell the tantalizing scent of his much-awaited steaks. As he eagerly followed the waitress' approach to their table, his gaze passed over a waiter around Jill's age. They locked eyes and the boy, caught staring, immediately returned his gaze to his tray. Haar forgot about him instantaneously as his food was set down in front of him, however.

* * *

Umm, hope that sort of builds up the suspense about the war?

Oscar: You don't sound very confident.

FireEdge: Well, that's because I'm trying to not give everything away at once. I still have seven chapters to go, you know… Anyway, I don't know when the next update will be. If I have time, I'll update around the first week of September. But, as most of you know, school's starting and my first semester (actually, my entire year) is pretty loaded, so my updating could get slow. Just a warning…

Oscar: Leave a review, and until next time!

--FireEdge--


	8. Day 8

Yeah, so school will be the end of me. I've had absolutely no spare time to do… anything. So, I must apologize for taking so long to update. However, expect future updates to take me about a month or so.

Oscar: Maybe it'll get better as you, erm, settle into a routine?

FireEdge: What routine? I live on a schedule of eat or be eaten (by homework and some other random junk). Anyway, this chapter's a (little) longer than other ones to make up for my absence? :D

Oh, and we'll finally see what was up with that waiter that caught Haar's eye last chapter. I'm sure some of you noticed that and were probably wondering: "What the…?" Anyway, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 8**

_Friday, October 20_

_It seems that Jill has started to wise up to this whole thing. I thought that maybe she was still in the dark, but today she confronted me about the war. 'Course, it's not like I could tell her anything, even if I knew how Shiharam was doing. I told him that there wouldn't be any point in trying to hide all of this from her; she was bound to find out that this war isn't just a little battle over nothing. There's still a week to go, but hopefully we'll see Shiharam by the end of it._

—_Haar _

* * *

Jill had a feeling that something was up the moment she sat down at the table. Jorge, Daniel and Zihark had been talking furtively up until she and Nicola approached. As if that were not obvious enough, they kept giving her strange sidelong glances. They said nothing other than a 'Hey' and were making themselves appear busy by listening to Nicola complain.

"… I swear, I want to shoot myself sometimes! Math has got to be _the_ most frustrating subject ever," Nicola lamented. Stopping momentarily in her tirade, her friend started to scrutinize the three boys in front of her. "What do you guys keep looking at?"

"Nothing!" Jorge retorted quickly.

"Well _that's_ not suspicious," she replied sarcastically. Craning her head, she looked around the cafeteria. Nothing of interest seemed to catch her eye. "Seriously, what were you looking at?"

"They were staring at Jill," Ilyana said suddenly, not bothering to divide her attention from her food.

"Ilyana!" Zihark exclaimed, flushing red with embarrassment.

"Why? Has Jill become miraculously more attractive?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Jill demanded.

"Just a harmless guess; I didn't mean anything by it," Nicola answered with a sweet smile.

"Anyway, why are you giving me such not-so-subtle looks for?" the magenta-haired girl asked, dismissing Nicola's comments for now.

The twins and Zihark exchanged a glance before turning back towards Jill nervously.

"Er, well…" Zihark started uncomfortably.

"The other night, I—"

"Daniel-saw-you-last-night-at-the-Lion's-Den," Jorge blurted out in one breath, cutting off his brother.

It took a moment for Jill to decipher the blond's outburst. However, when the pieces fell into place, a sense of dread began to proliferate. The only thought that could pass through her brain was: someone she knew had seen her at a restaurant. With Haar.

"Jill?"

Brought to her senses, Jill quickly wracked her brain for something to say. It was obvious that the three boys in front of her had jumped to conclusions—the wrong ones at that. She needed to come up with something to pacify their suspicious.

"W-What do you mean?" Jill finally spat out, desperately trying to keep her voice even.

"Um, well, I work part-time as a waiter at the Lion's Den," Daniel replied awkwardly. "And well, I, uh, I spotted you with an… older gentleman. I told Jorge and he kind of came to the conclusion that you two were, uh… going out, or something…"

"Hey, why're you shoving the blame on me for? You agreed with me, too!" protested Jorge.

"I just said that it was possible! I mean, he could've been her uncle, or another relative," replied his twin.

"Weeeelll, Jill?" Nicola asked, flashing her a wicked smile.

Jill flushed and a sudden urge to flee almost took over. It was obvious that Nicola had already guessed (_how_ she did it, Jill couldn't fathom) who the 'older gentleman' was.

"It's _not_ what you think!" Jill exclaimed. "I-I'm not going out with him! He's a friend of my dad; he was just treating me to supper!"

"Is that _really_ all?" Nicola pressed. "Seems awfully nice of him to take his friend's daughter out."

"He's a really _good_ friend!" she retorted, her voice nearly a squeak.

"So, you're _not_ going out with him?" Jorge repeated. "Well, that's a relief."

"Why? I doubt Jill'd go out with you," Ilyana said mildly, swallowing a bite of her second sub.

"Ouch. You know, for having such a cute face, you can say some really mean things," the blond remarked with a frown.

"Hey, now," Zihark joked warningly, cracking his knuckles.

"Why don't we talk about something else, guys?" Daniel suggested.

"Please!" added Jill. She didn't think she couldn't handle any more of the current subject. The sooner they forgot about the whole thing, the better.

"How 'bout that episode of 'The Blazing Sword' last night?" Nicola asked, apparently bored of the current subject (or just feeling merciful).

"It was a re-run, wasn't it?" Jorge replied. "It was the episode where they were fighting Uhai on the Dread Isle, right?"

"Yeah, I was working, you know, so…"

"I didn't see it, I was watching the news," Zihark said, a strange note in his voice.

The others (minus Ilyana, who was sipping on her juice box thoughtfully) regarded the silver-haired youth warily. Zihark was an avid humanitarian, being the president of Talrega High's Activist Club, Philanthropy group, and so many more that Jill had long ago lost count. He also volunteered at the General Hospital and the animal shelter. It was a wonder that he even had time to hang out with his friends. Actually, she was surprised that he was even eating with them today.

Since his friends were not quite so devoted to the welfare of Tellius, the teenager felt that he needed to occasionally enlighten his comrades. Apparently, this was one of those times.

"My friend Tormod, from Begnion, e-mailed me yesterday and you won't believe what he told me."

"Oh, do enlighten us," Jorge said with a roll of his eyes.

"Funny. Anyway, apparently the Daein troops who are near the Crimean and Begnion borders have been capturing civilians and are keeping them as POWs. As if that weren't bad enough, they're being treated like slaves!" Zihark exclaimed, pounding a fist on the table. "That's a complete violation of Tellius' international laws! It makes me sick how those soldiers are behaving!"

"Calm down, Zihark," Nicola interrupted. "Remember, Jill's dad's in the army, too."

"Oh, that's right. Sorry, Jill, you know that I don't mean your dad. Shiharam's donated to plenty of my causes before; he's a good man."

"No, it's fine. I don't exactly approve of this war," Jill replied with a grimace.

They were taking prisoners near the borders? Did that mean her father was being forced to do that? He was after all, stationed at Riven. She hadn't really been paying much attention to the war, though, so she couldn't be sure. At first, she hadn't taken it seriously; King Ashnard was known as a violent ruler, prone to starting skirmishes. However, she was beginning to see that more and more people were talking about it. The tidbits she'd picked up were not reassuring.

She had thought of asking Haar, but her attempt last night hadn't resulted in much.

While she could check up on the current situation through the media, she was scared of turning on the television or computer. What if what she saw was an image of a desolate battlefield, littered with fallen planes and corpses? Then again, she didn't think that the government would even let newscasters show those kinds of footage, so it wasn't as if she could trust the media.

So, she had convinced herself that there was no way for her to find out how her father was faring. Now, however, she was starting to feel even more uneasy. Perhaps it was time that she stopped trying to turn a blind eye on this whole mess.

* * *

"Good job, girls, that was a great practice," their coach stated as their session wound down. "I think that we're going to do just fine at our game tomorrow."

"We're playing here right?"

"Yes, a group from Nox is coming in. We'll be using our gym," the coach replied with a nod. "The game starts at 2:30, so be here around half an hour early. Got that, everyone?"

"Yes, ma'am!" they exclaimed good-naturedly, as they grabbed their bags and headed for the change rooms.

"Jill, wanna get together and do something before the game, tomorrow?" Nicola asked as they settled down into a corner of the changing room.

"By doing something, do you mean getting our Science project done?" Jill retorted. "You know that it's due Monday, right? I don't want to work on it all weekend, so let's get it finished tomorrow. It shouldn't take us long anyway; it's just a presentation on GMOs. We've already got the research done, so we just need to put together a poster or something."

"Ugh, I almost forgot. Yeah, I guess we should finish that…" her friend sighed. "So, what time do you want to come over, then?"

Jill frowned. Nicola's place was rather far from Haar's, so she couldn't walk. She hadn't tried going to Nicola's since she had been booted out of her house and sent to live with Haar. How long would it take to bus there…? Maybe she could get her 'roommate' to drop her off before he went to work? Wait, what time did he go to work?

"Jill?"

"Oh, um… I don't know. I'll just phone you before I come over. Maybe, er… 9:00?"

"Why so earlllllyyy?" Nicola moaned. "Whatever, just give me a ring, I guess."

"Stop whining. The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can do something else!"

Pre-occupied with thoughts of the game tomorrow and her imminent project (as well as the problem of _how_ she was getting to Nicola's house), Jill had momentarily forgotten about the fact that she was supposed to ask Haar about the war. That was until she entered the apartment and saw him reading the newspaper.

Sitting down across from him at the kitchen table, she stared at the man intently. After a few moments, she realized that he wasn't going to just tell her what she wanted to know (actually, he hadn't even acknowledged that she was there). Taking in a deep breath, as if to prepare herself, she opened her mouth.

"Haar?"

"Yes?" the man in front of her asked, not looking up from his newspaper.

"What are you reading?" she asked, not wanting to state her intentions right away. If last night was any proof of him dancing around her questions, she'd have to weasel the information she wanted out of him. She _knew_ that he must be checking up on the war; he was bound to know what she needed to find out. He would know the truth that the media wasn't allowed to broadcast.

"A newspaper. What does it look like?"

"Of course I know it's a newspaper! I was asking what you're reading _about_!" the girl snapped. Okay, so she had gone a little _too_ roundabout.

"Sports… Why? Do you want the comics?" Haar said lazily.

"Stop treating me like a kid!" she retorted automatically.

"I'm not. I read them, too."

"I mean, stop changing the subject!" Jill accused as her head began to spin. How the heck did he do that anyway?

"You need to calm down, girl. And talk sense when you're speaking to me," he replied with a frown.

Her plan was definitely not working. Maybe she should just try and ask him directly… Haar obviously wasn't going to tell her anything (useful) at this rate…

"Hey, wait a second! You're reading the 'International' section!"

"… So? I _finished_ Sports while you were babbling like a maniac," he answered, unruffled. "Now, what do you really want?"

"What?" she said with a start.

"I said, 'what do you really want?'" Haar repeated, folding the newspaper in half. "It'd take an idiot not to see that you're after something, what with that eager look plastered all over your face."

"I do not look eager!"

"Okay, wrong word. Sue me. You still want something."

"… How's Dad really doing?" Jill asked finally.

"Fine. I've told you that," Haar replied without a moment's hesitation.

"You're lying! I've heard how bad the war's gotten. You said that you'd tell me if something happened to him!" she exclaimed.

"Don't take that tone with me, Jill. That's not a good way for you to act when you're asking someone something," he warned, fixing her with a hard glare. "Now, I'm telling you that he's fine. If you don't believe me, go watch the news yourself. There won't be anything that contradicts what I said."

Jill gulped and settled down deeper into her seat as Haar stared sternly at her. She hadn't seen him react that way before. It did what he wanted, though; she was back to earth again and she realized that she was indeed being extraordinarily rude.

"Sorry," she mumbled, looking down from his gaze. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"… Jill, I already told you that I'd let you know if I heard anything. You're going to have to trust me," he said firmly, but gently.

"… Okay," Jill answered after a moment. It wasn't like she had a choice, anyway. She knew that Haar had more resources and she never was any good with research. Still, there was something in his voice that reassured her; she couldn't explain why.

* * *

Anyway, that's all for now… I hope that what I wrote made sense. My brain was kinda jumping all over the place as I was writing this.

Oscar: 'The Blazing Sword'?

FireEdge: Hey, you know it'd make an awesome T.V. show. So would PoR, but yeah, that wouldn't really work in this story. Oh, and I can totally see Zihark as a total humanitarian kind of guy who would be going around protesting… Or is that just me? Anyway, leave a review and I'll try my best to update as soon as possible!

-FireEdge-


	9. Day 9

Whoops, this took longer to get up than I expected it to. Anyway, this was supposed to be finished before Halloween (when, by the way, I thought I was going to die because my friend drives like how I make Haar drive—except worse), but that definitely didn't happen (the finishing this chapter on time _and_ the dying part, as you can see). Hahaha, oh well.

Oscar: Are you sure you haven't had a little too much candy? You're kinda bouncing off the walls and laughing maniacally.

FireEdge: That's a very distinct possibility, considering you are now riding a purple and pink unicorn and _not_ a horse (in my mind that is). Colourful imaginary creatures aside, enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 9**

_Saturday, October 21_

_It's official. This has got to be one of the most embarrassing days of my life. I can't even bring myself to recall it, let alone write it down. I can't believe he did that! I mean, he didn't really _do_ anything, but why did he have to show up when I didn't call him? Nicola's never going to leave me alone now that she's met him. I can't even look him in the face without wanting to drown myself. I was so distracted the rest of the day that I even forgot to do my laundry. Then I realized that I didn't have any clean pyjamas and since I'd decided that I was going to ignore Haar the rest of the night, I had to go steal a set of his clothes while he was in the shower. I'm sure he won't notice anyway, not if I wake up before him, change and then dump them into his laundry pile. Arrggh! I repeat: most embarrassing day ever._

—_Jill _

* * *

BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEE—

Haar smacked the 'snooze' button on his alarm clock and rolled over with a yawn. He was about to close his eyes and go back to sleep (after all, the alarm clock would just wake him up again in a few minutes). However, before he could do so, he realized that he was staring at something that shouldn't be there.

"And what are you doing in here, Jill?" he asked the teenager currently hovering over him.

"Are you aware that that's the third time your alarm's gone off?" she replied instead.

"Really now? I didn't notice," he answered before pulling one of his pillows over his face so that he could go back to bed.

"Haar! It's 8:00 already! You said you worked at 9, and you need to drop me off, remember?!"

He grunted and waved his hand dismissively.

"Haar!"

"Fine, fine. Get out so I can get dressed. Or would you rather stay and watch?" he replied as he felt Jill rip the pillow off his face.

"W-What?! NO!"

The brown-haired man chuckled to himself as he heard his bedroom door slam shut as she flew out of the room, her face red as her hair no doubt. It was so much fun to tease her, especially since he had a feeling that she was unconsciously attracted to him.

_I should probably not pursue that train of thought, lest I want Shiharam to skin me alive. Or end up burning in Hell._

With another yawn, he forced himself out of bed and threw on his work clothes. After running a comb through his unruly hair, he stepped outside and noticed that Jill was busy rummaging through the fridge. He also marked that she had taken out a pan and several bowls. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about breakfast.

When he was finished washing up, he found that Jill had already made a stack of French toast and she was already halfway finished her plate.

"Hurry up and eat, or we're going to be late," she said, washing down a bite with a gulp of milk.

"You should realize by now that that's not a very valid reason to motivate me. I couldn't care less what time I showed up to work," he replied blandly. "Oh wait, I'm opening up the shop today… Hmm…"

"Shouldn't you move it, then? Instead of sitting there staring out the window?"

"Yeah, probably." Looking over at the nearby clock, he saw that it was already 8:30. He had roughly half an hour to drop Jill off (wherever that may be) and book it to work in time to open up at 9:00. "Let's get going now, then."

"But you haven't eaten," Jill remarked, surprised.

"I'll bring it with me. If I'm giving you a ride, we should leave now," he said, grabbing a sandwich bag and cramming his breakfast in it before tossing the slices of bread into his work bag.

"Um, 'kay," the teenager replied, picking up her volleyball gear and school binder. "Nicola lives on Oleander Lane, off of Northumberland."

"… Yeah, I know where that is. Shouldn't take too long to get there…" Haar said, calculating the distance in his head. Of course, he didn't bother to tell her that he'd probably have to break a few speed limits. After all, how _else_ would he get there and then to work on time?

Within five minutes, the two of them were pulling out of the parking lot and zooming down the street. It only took ten minutes for Haar to turn onto Oleander Lane and he felt Jill tap him on the shoulder. Slowing down, he brought his motorcycle to a stop and he felt Jill struggling to get off. A few moments later, the magenta-haired girl was standing on the sidewalk and handing him her helmet.

The houses were large, mostly two-storied, and were accompanied by immaculate, green lawns. Many of the driveways sported shiny, expensive vehicles and he saw several children playing in the front yard. He had just stepped into the perfect suburbia. Now all he needed was a friendly neighbour to offer him some homemade, apple pie. He felt like a smear of grease on this pristine world. Oh, wait, he _was_ leaving some fuel on the road, via his slightly dripping exhaust pipe. He should probably look into that…

"What a rich area," he remarked. "Which house is hers?"

"Umm… the one down there. If you squint, you can just make it out; it has a yellowish roof."

"… So _why_ are we stopping here, then?" the man inquired, turning to scrutinize Jill. "If you wanted to walk, why did you even want me to drop you off?"

"Er…" Jill tugged at her hair nervously and averted her gaze.

"Wait a minute," he said, lifting his sunglasses and propping them on his head so that he could look at her directly. "You didn't just pull one of those: 'I'm embarrassed by my ride, so I'm going to make him drop me off down the street'. What are you, going to high school for the first time? Actually, who even does that anymore?"

"N-No! I mean, yes! Er, sort of!" she babbled, before blushing. "I-It's not that I'm _embarrassed_ by you, it's just that I don't want Nicola to see that you're dropping me off."

"Sounds like you're embarrassed to me," he retorted with a snort.

"Well, I don't want her to ask questions. She's suspicious as it is, and I don't want to fuel her crazy imagination if I don't have to."

"What do you mean? Suspicious of what?" Haar asked, though he had an inkling of what she was alluding to. The flush that covered her face told all.

"She doesn't know I'm, well, you know, staying at your place and, um… D-Don't you have to go to work?" she demanded instead.

"… I suppose I should, even though it's been a barrel of laughs to sit here and attract the attention of these rich folks," he replied, glancing at his watch. He had ten minutes. "Well, hope I haven't _embarrassed_ you too much. Phone me when your game's over."

Making sure to rev his engine extra loud, he sped off to work.

* * *

"Just on time…" Haar murmured to himself as he parked his bike and rifled through his keys.

However, as he moved to put the key in the doorknob, he realized that it was already unlocked. Frowning, he wondered if whoever was in charge of locking up last night had forgotten to double-check the door. Or maybe someone just got there before him…

Cautiously, Haar turned the knob and pushed the door open. Stepping inside, he looked around the foyer. No one was around, or at least not up front, and he heard nothing next to the ticking of the clock above the counter. Striding over to the window, he opened the blinds and switched on the neon 'Open' sign.

Without breaking the silence, he went through the blue-painted door marked 'Employees Only'. He was only mildly surprised to see someone sitting at the long, rectangular table that occupied the middle of the lounge. The man looked to be in his early fifties and his hair was more grey than maroon. His elbows were propped on the table, alongside old coffee cups and newspapers, his chin resting lightly on his intertwined fingers.

"Well, wasn't expecting you here, Boss," Haar greeted, walking past the man to get to the coat rack. "Thought that you were on your deathbed already."

"Not yet. Won't be long though, this body's failing me more every day," the man replied. "Glad to see that this place is still running properly."

"If we want to make any money, it'd damn well better be running properly. 'Course Kris'd have an apoplexy if this place got any worse," he answered as he threw on his work uniform. His good eye briefly scanned the table-top. "He'll be here anytime now, and I'll bet you that the first thing he'll do is clean that table."

The man didn't answer, pulling a newspaper towards him instead. It had been previously flipped to the 'International' section.

"… I'm surprised that it's taken him so long to start a war."

"Yeah, well…" Haar replied with a shrug. "You left the army when he was crowned, right?"

"I couldn't serve a man like that. I have yet to regret my decision," he answered, closing the newspaper and folding it neatly. "… How's Shiharam?"

"… I haven't heard from him since last week. I'm hoping he's in one piece, though. I don't think I could deal with his daughter if he wasn't."

"I'm sure you could. From what I've seen of her, she's a strong girl. In fact, you may end up relying on her just as much as she looks to you for comfort. That is, if anything were to happen," said the maroon-haired man. "Jill reminds me very much of my own daughter, in fact. They're both so stubborn and strong-willed."

"She's off to school in Marado, isn't she?"

"Yes, it's her second year of university."

A silence ensued and Haar contemplated the man sitting before him. If not for this man, he wasn't sure where he would be right now. After his accident three years ago, he had been left jobless and half blind.

His plane had been shot down, the right wing completely shorn off, and he had only managed to crash into a nearby field. Luckily, one of the other units had seen him and came to his rescue. They had pulled him out before any more damage could be done. However, the entire right side of his body had been wounded. An injury near his right eye had blinded it. Time had eventually healed the broken bones and burns. However, he was completely finished as a pilot. Without perfect vision, flying a plane would be suicide.

After being discharged from the air force, he was offered a job at a ground base, but he had refused. The more time he spent in the Daein army, the more he disliked it (anyway, paperwork wasn't exactly his thing…). While he didn't say anything outright, he was against their ideals. The soldiers were too power-hungry and ruthless; too eager to lick the boots of their superiors in exchange for special favours. Even as a low ranking officer, he had witnessed enough sucking up that he had taken to feigning sleep every time one of his men approached him.

Of course, refusing to serve the military, while not exactly a crime, was generally a bad idea in a country under perpetual martial law (or at least it felt like it, since all Ashnard cared about was making his army stronger). Finding a decent job afterwards had been a little harder than he had expected. Most employers took one look at his resume and turned so pale that they might as well have been translucent. No one wanted to deal with a veteran of the Ashnard's army.

Then Shiharam had directed him here, and he was hired right away.

"Hey, Boss. Did I ever thank you for taking me on?" Haar asked.

"Why so anxious to please all of a sudden, Haar?" the other man asked instead with a small smile. "Afraid that I'll drop dead tomorrow and you'll feel guilty all of your life?"

"Sure," he replied. But before he could say any more, the door he had previously entered slammed open and a blond-haired man a little younger than he walked in.

"Good morning, Kristopher."

"Ah! Mr. Lanvega! What a surprise!"

* * *

As Haar gathered his things at 4:00 PM, he saw Lanvega walk into the staff room.

"You're off already?" his boss asked.

"Yeah," Haar answered as he shed his uniform and stuffed it into his bag. "I've got somewhere to go, anyway."

"It was nice seeing you, Haar. Hopefully this won't be the last time, either," Lanvega said, sitting down.

"Who knows," he replied as he shrugged on his jacket.

As he was about to step through the blue door, he paused. He felt like he had more to say to Lanvega, but he didn't know what. Why he felt the need to say anything to the man at all confused him. Maybe it was because he had the distinct feeling that he wouldn't be seeing his boss again.

"Well, I'm off. See you later, Boss."

Waving good-bye to his coworkers, Haar promptly left the garage and made his way to his motorcycle. Jill hadn't called him yet, but he figured that she was almost finished anyway, so he decided that it would be best to wait at her school rather than head home. Also, he figured it'd make for a good show if he picked her up when she was unprepared. He could already see her flushing bright pink and stuttering nonsense.

Fifteen minutes later, the brown-haired man found himself outside the front doors of Talrega High. Hesitating for only a moment, he pushed the double doors open and stepped into the building. He couldn't remember the last time he'd set foot in a school. The floors were newly waxed, unblemished by the tramping of hundreds of feet that passed through on school days, and a large trophy case occupied the wall on his immediate right.

Down the corridor, he could hear the muffled cheers and yells of a large crowd. The game was still on, apparently. Following the sounds, he soon came across the doors leading to the gymnasium. Pulling open one of the doors, he felt as if he had been plunged into a sea of noise and lights. The bleachers on his left were filled with teenagers and adults alike, cheering on their friends or children. Spread out before him was a large court, split in half by a tall net.

Taking a seat on the end of the bleachers, he scanned the court for his pink-haired protégée. It didn't take long for him to find Jill. She was playing near the left pole, intent on the ball being passed between two of her team mates. A second later, she was on the move as the ball flew towards her. She jumped and attacked; the ball flew over and down, but was intercepted by the other team.

Haar shifted his gaze to the scoreboard on the opposite wall. They were currently playing the third, and last, set. Talrega was leading with a three-point advantage at 21 points. The game was almost over.

He didn't really pay much attention to rest of the set, though he followed Jill's movements languidly. Haar found it interesting that she looked so different when she was playing. She was intent, focused, with her brows drawn together in concentration and her mouth set firmly, her jaw no doubt clenched tightly.

Then the buzzer went off, and half the gym erupted in a roar. The game was done and Talrega had won two sets out of three. Haar stayed seated as the people around him milled about, standing up and cheering, jumping off the stands to greet the players as soon as they finished shaking hands with the other team.

Haar couldn't help but smile to himself as he saw Jill join her team mates in a flurry of high-fives and hugs. She hadn't noticed him yet, and he wondered what the best way to make his entrance was. Maybe he'd just sit there and wait until the bleachers cleared and Jill could see him. Or…

The Talrega team exchanged a few words with their coach before traipsing over to the change rooms. He then spotted an exit near there and determined that should Jill leave the gym, it'd be through there. Walking through those doors, he positioned himself just outside, so that the first thing Jill saw would be him.

Fifteen minutes later (why did it take her so long to change?) Jill and another girl exited the gym, as he predicted. She was deep in conversation and didn't seem to notice him until he greeted her with a quick salute.

"Yo, Jill."

She froze and her head whipped towards him. Her magenta eyes locked with his blue-grey ones and she blanched visibly, mouth slightly agape. The girl beside her stared at him curiously, confused. The confusion didn't last very long and was quickly replaced by a huge grin that reminded him of a picture he'd once seen of cat sitting in a tree, smiling down at a little girl.

"Your name doesn't happen to be Haar, does it?"

* * *

Yes, I'm ending it there. Does that make you guys annoyed? I know it does. XD

Oscar: You are twisted. And what kind of street names were those? Northumberland?

FireEdge: You tell me. _You're_ the one who inhabits my brain. Anyway, I have to apologize to those who have yet to play RD, since you won't get who Lanvega is. I don't know why I wrote him in, but I just had this sudden urge to stick him in here… Oh, and I just found out that Haar's eyes are totally blue-greyish. Or at least it looks like it in his FE10 official art. Seriously, zoom in on Paint or something. I was completely amazed (don't even ask why). I couldn't get over it, so I made an extra effort to include his eye colour in this chapter. Sorry that I'm such a geek.

Oscar: Well, leave a review, everyone. Maybe if you harp at her enough, she'll update faster.

FireEdge: Not happening. November's a busy month for me this year. But reviews would make me happy. Either way, I'll try my best to get an update up soon! Thanks for putting up with my nonsense this chapter and I hope you enjoyed Haar, since I had a blast writing him.

--FireEdge--


	10. Day 10

HOLY SNAP! 100 reviews! Wow, guys, thanks so much for the support! Anyway, apologies for the late update, but I'm been really busy lately. My winter break's coming up soon, though, so I should have more time to write then. For now, enjoy the chapter (which happens be the last truly "happy" chapter)! :D

Oscar: Should you really be telling them that? And with such a big smile?

FireEdge: No, but that's never stopped me before!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 10**

_Sunday, October 22_

_The worst-case scenario has finally occurred. Lanvega dropped by today with a letter from Shiharam. The Commander's as sharp as ever; he made sure to have it delivered to the garage rather than to my apartment. I guess he's that serious about keeping things from Jill. Apparently, it was brought in by a soldier who was just dispatched home. According to him, the Daein-Crimean border's a lost cause. Shiharam's letter says as much, too. His troops have been ordered to continue fighting, however, and he doesn't believe that he'll make it back. The rest of his letter was basically a set of instructions to follow upon his death. I didn't show it to Jill, of course, but I wonder if it's the right thing to do. Despite what Shiharam says, I think she has the right to know. Maybe it's because I'm still clinging to the hope that Shiharam will come back alive. I felt guilty anyway, and took her out for the day instead. I'm pretty sure she had a good time. Ashera knows that she liked that stuffed dragon enough…_

—_Haar_

* * *

Jill groaned and rolled over on her make-shift bed, pulling the blanket over her head. However, this did nothing to block out the loud, knocking sound. It stopped for a moment, but soon started up again. A few seconds later, her brain was awake enough to process the fact that it was someone knocking at the door (and that Haar had no intention of answering it).

The girl let out a sigh and threw back her blanket before half-falling off the coach. Stifling a yawn, she opened the door (forgetting to check who it was through the peephole) and stuck her head out.

"Hello?" she asked groggily.

Facing her was a man in his fifties, with greying hair and a stern, creased face. He held an envelope in one hand and a cane in the other. Upon meeting his gaze, he smiled lightly down at her.

"Good morning. Is Haar in?"

Jill didn't answer at first. She was still in sleep mode and when the question finally registered, she realized how compromising a position she was in. Standing in front of her was a distinguished-looking man (who was evidently on familiar terms with Haar) who didn't know _anything_ about her circumstances. It was obvious that she had spent the night in Haar's apartment and she was also wearing a set of pyjamas that were most definitely _not _something found in the women's section. This wasn't looking good.

Luckily, her father had drilled manners into her (for when she was talking to strangers anyway…) so she didn't decide to commit suicide right then and there. Instead, she asked the man to wait a moment before retreating into the apartment. She then opened the door to Haar's room without knocking, since she knew it would be pointless, and prodded him.

"Haar, wake up. There's someone at the door," she said.

Surprisingly, Haar's eyes peeled open.

"Who is it?"

"Umm, an older man, with purplish-grey hair and a cane."

Haar appeared to think for a minute before pushing himself upright and yawning. Running a hand through his hair, he paused mid-action and stared at her. His gaze didn't waver and Jill shifted uncomfortably. Also he was once again not wearing a shirt.

"What?" she finally forced out, avoiding his unnerving eyes.

"… Why… are you wearing my clothes?"

Committing suicide in front of _Haar_, on the other hand, didn't seem rude at all at the moment.

"Ummmm… Er, I-I kinda… ran out… of…" her voice trailed off as she slowly backed out of the room. "Shouldn't you, ya know, go greet that guy?"

"I expect you to wash those yourself," he replied before throwing on a shirt and following her out of the room.

Haar then proceeded to the door and stepped outside, leaving Jill to stare at the closed door.

After a few seconds of spacing out, Jill realized exactly how bad her morning was turning out. She sank onto the couch, suddenly feeling dizzy. The moment passed, however, and she shook her head.

"Okay, get a grip. So a random stranger just saw you in, quite possibly, the most awkward situation ever and Haar caught you pilfering his clothes. Things could've been worse," she told herself.

Of course, this led to a recollection of yesterday's just-as-embarrassing events.

* * *

"_Your name doesn't happen to be Haar, does it?"_

_As soon as the words were out of Nicola's mouth, Jill felt as if someone had just punched her in the gut and she was momentarily breathless. This wasn't happening._

"_And how would you know that?" he asked with a slight smirk._

"_Oh, Jill only talks about you _all_ the time!"_

_An infinite pit opened where her stomach was situated and she felt it plummet down and down… Luckily, this didn't seem to affect her equilibrium, and she immediately whirled on her 'best friend'._

"_I-I do NOT! Stop making stuff up!" Jill almost cringed at how high-pitch her voice was. Squeaking definitely put a damper on how furious she was supposed to sound._

"_Simmer down, Jill," Haar said calmly. _

_She felt his hand on her shoulder and she instinctively turned to face him. Bad idea. It only made his next statement harder to bear._

"_You know, I thought you were too embarrassed to even acknowledge me," he added, his face completely solemn though it was obvious he was joking._

_Jill didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or cry. Her body, however, deemed it appropriate to let the blood rush to her cheeks. _

"_Aww, Jill, are you _blushing_?" Nicola gushed, nearly cackling with laughter._

"_N-N-NO!" she exclaimed, glaring at Nicola's wide grin. "I-I'm leaving! I'm _walking_ home!!" _

_The magenta-haired girl then shrugged off Haar's hand, tightened her grip on her bag and stormed down the hallway. She then proceeded to ram into the door, slightly rebounding off of it._

"_You have to _pull_ it open, Jill!" Nicola sang, stifling her giggle. _

_A movement to her left caused her to break the death glare she was directing at the exit and turn her head. Haar was holding the other door open._

"_After you."_

* * *

Jill buried her face into her hands and groaned. Her life was over. How was she going to survive the next four days? Scratch that. How was she going to live through _tomorrow_?

_Dad can't come back any sooner!_ The thought, brought on unexpectedly and automatically, made her brain derail completely and spin 180 degrees. It had been ten days now, since he'd left for the border. She hadn't received any news of him, he hadn't even emailed since last week.

The familiar uneasiness started to creep in and she shuddered involuntarily. Her fingers itched to grab the television remote and turn on the news, but she knew that it wouldn't help relieve the nervousness. Anyway, Haar had promised that he'd let her know if anything new came up.

Standing up, she pulled her long hair into a loose ponytail and headed over to the kitchen. She began to pull out a frying pan and spatula, intending to distract herself with breakfast. No sooner had she cracked open an egg onto the sizzling butter did Haar open the door and step back into the apartment. His face was troubled and his fingers fidgeted with the envelope in his hands.

"What happened?" Jill asked, hiding the curiosity in her voice.

Haar didn't answer at first and she wondered if he even heard her. She opened her mouth to repeat her question when Haar finally spoke.

"Nothing, it was just my boss from work."

He stepped into his room, but came back out a second later, his hands now empty.

"Oh… Um, so why was he here?"

"He was just dropping off some paperwork. A client wasn't satisfied with our work and is demanding a refund," he replied, leaning against the kitchen counter, glancing down at the pan. "Want me to make some toast to go with that?"

"Thanks, that's so helpful," Jill answered sarcastically, flipping the eggs.

"Oh, I know."

Haar didn't say anything more as he busied himself with popping slices of bread into the nearby appliance. For a few long seconds, all Jill could hear was the sound of their breakfast cooking. However, as she slid the finished eggs onto two plates, Haar spoke up again.

"You have any plans today?"

"Umm, no, not really. Why?" she asked, looking at him enquiringly. He was gazing out the window thoughtfully.

"What would you say to going on a little date with me?"

"Wh-Wh-WHAT?!" Jill exclaimed, nearly dropping the pan in her shock.

"I'm just kidding. Sort of. It's unusually nice out today, for October, you know… Almost like the calm before a storm… I was wondering if you wanted to go out somewhere," he replied, smiling at her not unkindly.

Jill felt the breath catch in her throat as she met his eyes, more blue than grey today. She never really noticed that they were so… intense. Maybe it was because they were usually closed…

"Jill, the pan's going to burn if you keep it on the element like that."

She gasped and tore her gaze away from his, returning her attention to the stove. Tossing on a few slices of bacon, she concentrated on cooking, ignoring the low chuckle coming from Haar. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop herself from turning as red as the meat in front of her.

"Anyway, I heard that there's something going on at the park today. Why don't we go check it out?" Haar said after a moment.

"S-Sure."

* * *

Jill immediately regretted agreeing to go out with Haar today. She had been too… _distracted_ to realize how bad an idea it was to be in public with him. At least not _everyone_ was staring, and his sunglasses did a good job of disguising his age. However, it was still obvious that there was a large age gap between them.

"You look like you're going to a funeral," Haar remarked dryly.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not thrilled at the fact that people are giving us funny looks," she retorted, glaring at him. However, glowering at his shaded eyes only made her feel silly and she dropped her eyes… only to encounter his form-fitting polo shirt.

"Let them look. What does it matter anyway? If it makes you feel any better, we can pretend that I'm you uncle… on your mom's side."

"But _they_ don't know that! I mean, _think_ that," she replied, busying herself with glancing around the park. "By the way, what is this? Some kind of carnival?"

East Park was usually well-populated, but today there were even _more_ people than usual. There was an especial abundance of young children running about with their parents trailing them. In the near distance, past a throng of bodies, she could make out colourful stalls, covered with streamers and balloons.

"I think so. There's a lot of games and I think there's some kind of magic show in that big tent over there. I can make out a few rides on the far end, too."

"So… why are we here?" Jill asked, glancing at him suspiciously.

"Don't kids your age like this kind of stuff?" he asked instead, shrugging.

"Um… I'm not sure how to answer that."

Sure, she didn't mind going to fairs… with her friends. Going with Haar was more on the weird side. Still, she could tell that he was only trying to be nice. Either way, she was positive that none of her friends knew that there was something going on at East Park (she hadn't even known until today), so she might as well go along with it. Who knows, it _might_ be fun.

"Want to take a look around?" Haar asked.

"Sure, let's go."

However, neither of them budged. She had been waiting for _him_ to lead the way, but it was evident that he was thinking the exact opposite.

"Er… right, so that way… looks, um, interesting," Jill said slowly, glancing at the path to her right. It was bordered by various stands and there were (a little) less people. Maybe they could find something to do down there.

"Sounds good," he replied, placing a hand on her back to steer her towards the direction she had indicated.

She twitched at the feel of his hand and let out a small sigh when it fell away a moment later. This could not get any more awkward…

"Umm, I haven't been to something like this for a while," Jill said after a while, trying to break the silence between them as they weaved their way through the crowd, glancing occasionally at the games and food.

"Me neither. I never was much for festivities. I'd rather spend my time napping," he answered.

"Then why are you here now?" she asked, a little bit confused. Now that she thought about it, this _was_ out of character for him.

"It's a nice day," he simply replied, leaving her even more puzzled.

Her attention was then drawn to one of the booths in front of them. Hundreds of stuffed animals were piled up on the counters and quite a few people, mostly couples and little girls she noted, were gathered around it.

"Look! Aren't they cute?"

"Daddy! Get me one! I want the pink pony!!"

"Welcome! Step on up and play for only five gold! Shoot as many of the ducks as you can with the airgun within the time limit and earn a prize!"

"Wow, that stand's pretty popular," Haar remarked as a father handed over the money to the attendant and hefted the rifle. A whistle sounded and little plywood ducks moved back and forth in the background.

"Yeah," Jill agreed, her eyes falling on a row of plush toys. The black, shiny eyes of a green dragon stared back at her. There was a smile sewed on its face and she let out a small gasp. It was… so adorable.

"What are you looking at?" asked Haar, apparently noticing her stare.

"N-Nothing," she replied quickly, flushing slightly.

"Are you sure you weren't just ogling that green dragon thing?"

"How did you—I mean… ugh," Jill groaned and looked away. She didn't particularly want to see him laughing at her.

"Do you want it?" he asked, much to her surprise. She turned towards him, her mouth slightly agape. There was not a trace of mockery on his face, just a small smile.

"Umm…"

Taking that for a yes, Haar stepped through the mass of people and pulled out his wallet. Jill squeezed through after him and as she reached the counter, he was handed the air rifle. Propping his sunglasses on his head, he aligned the gun to his left eye. The whistle sounded and the conveyor belt whirred into action, chugging out the little painted ducks.

Haar shot with ease, hitting every single one. The crowd around her clapped and cheered as he handed the rifle back to the employee.

"Fantastic, sir! You can pick any prize you'd like!"

"Give me that green dragon there," he said, tipping his sunglasses back over his eyes. "Here."

A soft, plush dragon was shoved into her arms and his hand was on her back again, directing her out of the throng.

"Um, thanks Haar!" Jill said, finally getting over the initial shock.

"No problem, kiddo," he replied, ruffling her hair. "It's nice to know that I can still hit a target, even with only one good eye."

She gave the dragon an experimental squeeze and let out a laugh as the smile on its face seemed to expand. Maybe today wasn't so bad after all. However, as she snuck a glance at Haar, she couldn't help but notice that he was more pensive than usual.

* * *

BARF! I can't believe I just wrote that. XD

Oscar: The calm before the storm, indeed…

FireEdge: Yeah, I guess that all the fluffiness in this entire story accumulated into THAT. A Ferris wheel popped into my head, but then I realized I'd sooner eat my own arm than go that far.

Oscar: I think you've been reading too much shoujo manga…

FireEdge: Not unlikely. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Haar's attempt at being super nice and please don't shoot me for any diabetes-inducing syndrome you may have received reading this. By the way, cookies for anyone who can guess what that stuffed dragon's supposed to represent. It's not hard to guess at all. :P Well, see you next chapter (which will be much more serious, I swear).

--FireEdge--


	11. Day 11

I am very proud of myself. I actually succeeded in updating within a reasonable time. Actually, this is probably to make up for the fact that my next update is going to take a while. CURSE YOU EXAMS!

Oscar: There, there. At least you relieved your conscience with _this_ update.

FireEdge: Anyway, enjoy the chapter (maybe)!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 11**

_Monday, October 23_

_It's funny how yesterday was so… happy and carefree, compared to today. When Zihark showed me that newspaper, I think my brain went on auto-pilot. The whole day passed by in a blur. I was hoping Haar would have the answers, but I guess it was stupid to expect that he somehow _knew _everything. I hate not knowing. It makes me confused… scared. I can't even sleep right now, even if it's almost 11 o'clock. My mind's all jumbled up, I can't think straight…_

—_Jill_

* * *

Haar looked at his alarm clock blankly. The red numbers read: 5:53 AM. Normally, he would question why he was up at such an ungodly hour in the morning, but today wasn't really normal. In fact, he knew perfectly well why he was sitting on his bed, unable to sleep.

For about the hundredth time, Haar pulled open the drawer of his nightstand and retrieved the letter he had received yesterday. He fingered it in his hands, turning the envelope over and over. A few turns later, he finally reached into the envelope and pulled out the letter. Unfolding it, his eyes stared blankly at the paper, not really reading the words scrawled across it.

_Haar,_

_As I'm sure you've already heard, Ashnard has already given up on Riven. Crimea and Begnion's forces are too strong and the king refuses to send in any more troops. However, we have not received orders to pull out. We are, no doubt, expected to fight to the death. Only those who were severely injured, who cannot fight now but will still be of use in the future, have been dispatched home. This letter should've come with one of those men. _

_However, as I've told you before, I am sending you this letter to prepare you for the worst. Though I pray that I will return, I highly doubt that this will come to be. You know where I have left my will, and I trust that you will fulfill your duties as executor._

_If I do not see you again, I want to take this moment to thank you for everything you've done for me. Also, if I… do not return, please, take care of Jill, though I'm sure I do not even need to ask. I've left her a letter, as well, with my will._

_May we meet again,_

_Shiharam_

Haar exhaled through his nose, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling. He couldn't really say that he was shocked. He had been expecting this. That one day, Shiharam might not make it home in one piece. However, as he folded the letter once more and returned it to his drawer, one thing came to mind that he knew he had not expected.

Knowing that he would not go back to sleep anytime soon, Haar stood up and shrugged on a loose button-up shirt before quietly opening his door. Stepping through the threshold, his gaze fell upon the couch that sat directly opposite his door. Jill slept soundly, oblivious to the turmoil that threatened to invade her life.

Jill let out a sigh and twitched in her sleep, turning slightly. Her hair fell back and he caught a glimpse of green in-between the folds of crimson. The plush dragon that he had won for her yesterday was clutched tightly to her chest.

_She's still just a kid_, he thought to himself with a smile.

Closing the distance to the couch in a few strides, Haar glanced down at the sleeping girl. He couldn't help but feel a strange rush of warmth as he observed her. It would seem that she had grown on him during their time together. Before, when she had first come to his apartment, he had seen her as a pesky, whiny adolescent. Now, he actually enjoyed her company. Just imagining her gone, of his empty apartment once more, was a disconcerting thought.

Reaching out a hand, he let the tips of his fingers lightly brush her brow before heading to the kitchen. Silently, he prepared a cold breakfast and packed his lunch, not wanting to wake Jill up. Biting into his cream cheese-slathered bagel, he ripped a paper from a nearby notepad and scrawled a quick note to Jill, indicating that he had gone to work early, and left her some bus fare. Of course, she would never realize that he had left nearly three hours earlier than he needed to.

Before heading out the door, his gaze wandered around his apartment before settling on the couch Jill occupied. Absently, he noted that Shiharam was right. The man didn't need to ask him to protect Jill. He would watch out for her as long he lived. Just like he had yesterday, when that one guy had tried to hit on her.

* * *

Haar opened his good eye as he heard the staff room door creak open. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was 8:50 AM. Tilting his head slightly, he nodded a greeting to Caleb.

"Morning, Haar. You're here early. For once," the younger man quipped, dumping his belongings in the corner.

"Yeah, thought I'd be nice today and save Kris from losing his voice yelling at me. Not that I listen to the poor fool," Haar replied from his stretched-out position on the worn-out leather couch.

"Oh, remember that time you showed up an hour late? Was he ever _mad_. He was yelling so much that his face was red and the customers up front could even hear him. You ignored him the whole time, too, didn't you?" Caleb asked with a laugh.

"Probably, though I don't really remember."

"Ah well, I think he's starting to give up on you. I mean, it's been, like, two… three years?" he said with another bark of laughter. "Oh yeah, I took in the mail. You want the papers? You look kinda bored."

"Sure, but don't you want to read it?" Haar answered, stifling a yawn as he sat up and dropped down into one of the chairs instead.

"Already did!" Caleb chirped, tossing him the rolled-up newspaper.

"… Um, how? You just got here," the brown-haired man demanded, catching the bundle. As he unrolled it, he saw that it had indeed already been rifled through.

"Oh, I sped through it before coming into the staff room. I'm an ace speed-reader, you know!"

"Are you sure you actually absorb what you read?" Haar asked dryly, as he smoothed out the front page. His eyes widened slightly as he read the biggest headline: 'RIVEN LOST, CRIMEANS CLAIM BORDER.'

"Pretty bad, eh?" Caleb remarked, noticing Haar's reaction. "I mean, I can't say I didn't see it coming, after we lost all of those troops last week, but still…"

Haar didn't hear anything else Caleb said. He was too busy scanning the article. It didn't take long for him to finish and he set the paper down without a word.

"Haar? What's wrong? You look kinda…"

Late last night, Crimea had launched a surprise attack. The Daein troops, depleted and exhausted, had been taken prisoner; it had all ended in a matter of hours. None of that fazed him, though. What he couldn't get out of his head was one single sentence: _'However, the last surviving Wyvern unit is missing in action, shot down after a last struggle of resistance.'_

* * *

Perhaps he had been too wrapped up in his own thoughts, yet again, to notice that Jill was unnaturally quiet. When he had picked her up, she hadn't said a word, and had silently clung to him as he started the motorcycle. It wasn't until they entered the apartment, washed in an eerie orange glow by the setting sun, that he finally realized.

"How long have you known?" Jill asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

He paused, half-way through taking off his jacket. Of course he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"That depends. Would you believe what I told you, or have you already convinced yourself that I'm lying to you again?" he replied, draping his jacket over a chair.

Once more, he found his eyes wandering to the clock. It was 6:30 PM. The entire day had seemed to slip by. He could barely remember what had happened at work. Why was he so worried about the time, today, anyway?

"… I don't know. Sometimes, I think I know what you're thinking, but most of the time, I'm in the dark," Jill answered. "I… I just want to know the truth… If you know if…"

Haar couldn't bring himself to look at Jill. He didn't know what to tell her. Should he go against Shiharam's wishes and tell her everything he'd known these past two weeks? Divulge to her the words in Shiharam's final letter? Oh wait, he was supposed to protect her. Telling her that her own father didn't think that he was going to live didn't really fit with that…

"I only know as much as you do, Jill. Even if I'm an ex-soldier, that doesn't mean I'm somehow privy to everything that's going on in the army. I found out that… Crimea took the border this morning, when I read the papers at work," he finally said, locking his eyes with hers.

She stared back at him in a strange combination of emotions. The brown-haired man could see her waver between accusing him of knowing more and of giving up. He almost wished that she would yell at him, so that he'd feel obligated to tell her everything, even if he didn't know how she would react to it all. However, she only nodded and sank into a chair.

After deciding that Jill had no intention of moving, talking or breaking her blank stare out of the window, he slowly retreated to his bedroom. Though he sorely wished that there was something else he could do, nothing came to mind. Instead, he sank into his bed and closed his eyes, absently noting that he hadn't slept for twelve hours.

* * *

His eyes flew open at the sound of shattering glass. Red numbers stared back at him, silently blaring 11:09 PM.

Sitting up in one swift movement, Haar nearly flew to the door, yanking it open. His apartment was pitch black, save for a dim light. Turning to the left, he nearly winced as he was assaulted by the yellow light coming from the inside of his fridge.

Without really registering his movements, he soon found himself kneeling next to Jill, who was crouched on the floor by the open fridge. One of her hands carefully cradled large glass shards as she picked up the other pieces.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Put that down, Jill. You're smart enough to know that you shouldn't be picking up broken glass with your bare hands," he replied. Gently, he grasped her wrists and forcefully made her drop the pieces. He then moved her into a nearby chair, and made swift work of the debris.

Finished with cleaning up, he turned back to the girl seated behind him. He hadn't noticed until now, but she was crying, her suddenly very frail-looking body shaking uncontrollably.

"He's not coming back, is he?"

"… I don't know," he answered truthfully, for once. "… C'mon, you should get some sleep."

"I… I can't. E-Every time I… close my… my eyes…"

Stepping forward, he grasped her shoulders and once again directed her movements, this time steering her to her make-shift bed. For a split second, he hesitated over his next action. Then, he sat down and pulled her into his arms. He could feel her sharp intake of breath.

"Sleep. Worrying about it isn't going to help. There's no way to tell what will happen. We'll just have to wait and see."

Ah. So that was why he kept watching the clock.

"… Okay…" Jill mumbled into his chest. Her body relaxed in his arms and he began to idly run his fingers through her hair.

He wasn't sure how many minutes passed before he felt the light rising and falling of her lungs as she fell into a deep slumber. She had finally crashed.

Cautiously, he moved his left arm and searched behind him. His hand brushed against the nearby coffee table and soon came into contact with what he was looking for. Grasping the television remote, he shifted so that Jill's face was shielded from the glare of the screen as he turned it on. He immediately turned the volume down, so that the voices were only above a buzz.

Glancing down at Jill, he checked to make sure that she was still asleep before he flipped the channel. The 11 o'clock news was almost over. Soon, the anchorwoman would be repeating the biggest story of the day…

"…the Crimeans have allowed Daein troops to clear the Riven area of their dead. During this time, the previously missing Wyvern unit was discovered. The planes had been shot down and crashed in a clearing to the North of the river's East bank. The identities of the salvaged bodies have not been disclosed, and at least two pilots are still unaccounted for. Whether they are dead or alive is a mystery…"

As the newscaster spoke, camera footage played in the background, showing black-clad soldiers extracting bodies from the twisted skeletons of destroyed planes. Haar stiffened involuntarily and promptly pressed the 'Power' button, letting the darkness envelope him and the girl that he shielded in his arms.

* * *

Ahaha, I am such a jerk for ending it there. Also, you shouldn't expect an update until February, since I've got exams coming up.

Oscar: I believe the word to describe people like you is 'sadist'.

FireEdge: Or I can say I'm doing it for dramatic purposes. :D Anyway, I know that this chapter probably seemed really detached and passed too fast, but that's exactly how it felt to Haar.

Oscar: No one believes you, you know…

FireEdge: On an (almost) completely unrelated note, you know you play too much Fire Emblem when you go to see the movie 'Valkyrie' because your reasoning is: "OMG TOM CRUISE LOOKS LIKE HAAR! =O". Seriously, was I the only one?

--FireEdge--


	12. Day 12

Hey-o! Sorry for the wait, but I had a lot of work to get done last week, what with exams and final projects. Anyway, I've got this week off before all hell lets loose (again), so I figured it'd be a good idea to write this now.

Oscar: Enjoy the update!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 12**

_Tuesday, October 24_

_After last night, I was afraid of how today would turn out. But it seems I didn't give Jill enough credit; she's stronger than I thought. She kept herself occupied the entire day so that she wouldn't dwell on Shiharam's situation. I don't know how long she can keep this up, but at least she's trying. I suppose it helped that she found my old scrapbook... I just wish that she hadn't felt the need to ask me a million questions afterwards. Either way, it was a long time before I could even get her to go to sleep. Thankfully, I didn't miss the news, not that it helped much. The army apparently won't release the names of the dead until their families have been informed of their passing. So, I guess it's another waiting game. _

—_Haar_

* * *

As Jill woke up, she became aware of two things. Firstly, her eyes felt puffy and her head throbbed slightly. Secondly, she was sleeping on something warm, angular and moving.

Opening her eyes in surprise, she found that her head was reclined against a muscular chest that was covered with a coarse cotton shirt. Though she was pretty sure that she was wide awake and her brain totally functional, Jill froze, unable to move. One of Haar's arms was loosely wrapped around her waist and she could feel his legs stretched out next to hers. His chest rose up and down slowly beneath her, indicating that he was still fast asleep.

_Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!_ Jill mentally swore. She was in deep panic mode now. Why was she asleep on the couch with Haar?! And why was she _enjoying _it?!

Eyes wide, she slowly tried to extricate herself from Haar. She was suddenly _much_ too hot and his body heat was only making it worse. However, as she shifted, Haar's eyes snapped open. Jill returned Haar's groggy stare with one similar to that of a deer caught in the headlights.

After about an eternity of staring, Haar finally yawned and stretched, freeing Jill enough for her to fall off the couch. She landed on the floor with about as much grace as a ragdoll tumbling off a skyscraper.

"... I didn't think I made so uncomfortable a pillow that you'd prefer the floor," he said non-chalantly, glancing down at her.

"N-No, you were... I mean! You weren't... No, wait, what happened?" Jill managed to stutter out, finally finding enough strength to sit up.

Much to her consternation, Haar didn't answer. Instead he turned his head and looked out the window across from them.

"It seems that it snowed last night," he remarked.

"Huh?"

Momentarily forgetting her train of thought, Jill followed his gaze and saw that the balcony window was frosted. Beyond the glass, at least two inches of fluffy, white snow covered the balcony.

"... Guess we'll have a white Halloween. Haven't had one of those for... a few years," Haar said lightly, swinging himself into an upright position. "By the way, you're about one and a half hours late for school."

"WHAT?!" Jill shrieked, her head whipping around to look at the clock. It read 10:38 AM. "Oh no! I've missed first period! How long will it take to get to school by the time I... CRAP! I'm screwed!"

"Or you could just... not go," commented Haar.

She whirled around again and stared at her roommate, who was slumped lazily on the couch.

"What? You've never skipped school before?"

"Of course not!"

"Well, I think you should today. You're completely wired, and I highly doubt that you'll be able to concentrate even if you did go," he replied as he stood up. The man then grabbed her by the shoulders and forcibly sat her down on the couch before heading towards the kitchen.

Jill blinked, confused. Ever since she'd woken up, her head had been completely muddled and she couldn't think straight. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath. Then she noticed again that slight puffiness of the eyes that could only be explained by the fact that she had fallen asleep crying.

Then it hit her, like a truck at 100 km/h. It was all still a little fuzzy, but she clearly remembered that she hadn't been able to sleep, so she had tried to pour a glass of milk. Then she had dropped the glass and Haar had been there. Then...

The girl flushed as she remembered what happened next. She _had_ fallen asleep in his arms! However, a second later, her hormones were quickly shoved aside as she remembered the reason for last night's insomnia.

At school, Zihark had come up to her and asked her if she had read the papers that morning. Though her entire day had then passed in a blur, Jill vaguely remembered that she had forced herself to get through school. However, when Haar couldn't tell her anything to assuage her fears, she had let her mind come up with scenario after scenario of 'what ifs'. She had run through every possible re-enactment of her father's death, each more harrowing than the other. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking that he was dead, that he wouldn't come back, that he was—

"Stop it." Haar's voice was soft and quiet, but commanding.

"I'm not... doing anything," she said, not quite able to meet his hard stare.

"... C'mon, breakfast is ready."

She closed her eyes for a second and told herself to get a grip. Haar was right; she had to stop thinking about this. Sitting around wondering if her father was alive wasn't going to do anything. News of him wasn't going to just... appear, and he wouldn't want her to mope about. Either way, if he was... dead, then someone would have called or dropped by. Since neither had happened, he was bound to be alive.

"... Thanks," she said to Haar as she walked over and pulled out a chair.

He grunted a response as he bit into a waffle, tinkering with the coffee maker.

"Ummm... Do you think... we could do something?" Jill asked after a moment.

"Like what?"

"I don't know."

Jill wasn't entirely sure what she wanted either. Now that she had resolved to not dwell on negative thoughts, she felt that she couldn't sit still. She needed to be _doing_ something. Her father often told her that he disliked idleness; he was always moving about, his hands always occupied.

"... We could clean the apartment," Haar suggested after a moment.

"Actually, that might not be a bad idea..." she replied, surveying the apartment. She supposed that Haar had started to rub off on her; her things were thrown none-too-neatly in a corner, the shelves and tabletops were cluttered with both their things and she was pretty confident that there was a layer of dust covering most of the furniture.

"Well, nothing like... winter cleaning," remarked Haar.

* * *

Jill stared at the tall shelves, marvelling at exactly how much stuff Haar had jammed into it. There didn't seem to be any particular order to how he had shoved the books, DVDs, CDs or random boxes together. As her eyes scanned it up and down, she decided that organizing this would be beyond her abilities. However, as she turned to back away and tackle a different job, her eyes fell upon a photo album (or at least, it looked like one).

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Haar was occupied with wiping down the kitchen counters. Pulling out the album, she flipped it open, being careful to keep her body between Haar and the album. She was curious as to what kind of pictures someone as detached as Haar would keep.

The album resembled more of a scrapbook than a real photo album. The pictures were attached in positions that varied by page, and captions were scrawled under them in Haar's handwriting. Skimming through the book, she saw that there were actually quite a few filled pages and that some of them held clipped newspaper articles as well as photos.

Flipping back to the first page, she studied the two photographs on it. Both appeared to be portraits of a middle-aged woman, except that in one photo she was alone and the other was taken with a young boy. Unable to recognize the people in the pictures, Jill glanced at Haar's captions. Underneath the first portrait was the word 'Mother' and under the other 'Mother and I'.

Jill's eyes nearly popped out of her head. That little boy was _Haar_?!

"Having fun, Jill?" Haar murmured, his mouth right beside her ear and his breath tickling her neck.

An involuntary shudder ran down her spine and she barely stopped herself from dropping to the floor and begging for mercy.

"Umm, I was just... trying to organize your... er, shelf, and... yeah..." she replied weakly.

"... I was wondering where that got off to," he remarked, plucking the album from her hands.

"So, uh, that's your photo album?"

"Yes... there are some things that I don't trust myself to remember."

She watched as he flipped through a few pages thoughtfully. After a couple of pages, he paused and his lips twitched in a small smile. He then closed the album and proffered it to her.

"Here, look through it if you want. You might find something interesting," he said, still smiling lightly. "I'm going to go run down to the store and pick up some groceries. You don't need to come."

Without waiting for her response, he went into his room and quickly changed. He then left the apartment, leaving Jill still standing by the shelves, holding the scrapbook.

Stepping towards the couch, she plopped down and rested the album on her lap. She then opened the cover and flipped to the second page. Instead of a picture, there were two newspaper articles, yellowed with age. The first told of a fire that burned down three homes in Begnion. The only survivors were a young couple and a boy of twelve from one of the other families. The family of five in the other house and the mother of the boy had perished in the fire. The second article was an obituary.

Jill didn't need to read through the obituary to know who it belonged to. Instead, she turned to the next page. One of the photos was of Haar leaning against a motorcycle. He looked about eighteen, and she couldn't help but stare. His features looked much the same (apparently he'd aged well in the last decade), though his slicked back hair was shorter and he sported a carefree smile. The only word she could describe him as was, well... handsome.

Blushing, she looked at the next picture, which was of Haar and a young woman, apparently taken on the same day as the photo with the motorcycle. Haar was leaning on the woman's shoulder casually and Jill felt her gut wrench slightly. The woman was very beautiful, with pale green hair that was tied loosely and draped over one shoulder. The caption told her that the woman was named 'Sigrun'. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but Jill couldn't remember where she had seen or heard it before.

Turning the page, she saw a picture of Haar dressed in a Begnion military uniform, standing at attention. The next few pages also contained more photographs of Haar in his uniform, though they were with various people and planes. One in particular caught her attention. It was of Haar and her father. She had nearly forgotten that her family was originally from Begnion. In fact, she had been born there, if she recalled correctly. They had moved to Daein when she was three or four.

Afraid that her mind might start to wander back to last night's thoughts, she flipped the page and came across another newspaper article. She didn't particularly understand what it was talking about; something about Begnion's Senate and a mass emigration.

Flipping the page, she was disconcerted to see a picture of an even younger Haar. He appeared to be fifteen this time, with hair that reached his shoulders. Apparently, this album wasn't in chronological order. The next photo was of Haar and her father again. The photo below this one made her gasp. It was of Shiharam... with her mother. She had seen countless pictures of her mother, but in this one, her belly was swollen and round.

Jill had never met her mother. She had died during childbirth, and for a long time Jill had blamed herself for her mother's death. However, she knew better now and she smiled at the picture. Her parents looked so happy.

The next page held another obituary, but Jill skipped over it. She had read it countless of times.

As she turned to a new page, she had to do a double-take. Haar hadn't initiated a time skip yet, since he still looked fifteen in the photo, but was he... holding a baby? The young Haar was indeed cradling a baby awkwardly in his arms. Looking at the caption, she read: 'Holding Jill'.

* * *

Surprisingly this chapter turned out to be a lighter chapter (sorry it was so short). Probably because I didn't feel like writing about Jill being depressed the whole time. She had her breakdown last chapter, so this chapter is her sort-of recovery. Jill doesn't seem the sort to mope, anyway.

Oscar: Basically you were too lazy to write something overly emotional and profound.

FireEdge: Hush, you. That was totally NOT a filler chapter, nor was it supposed to lull the readers into a FALSE sense of security. Anyway, I don't know when I'll have the next chapter up (we'll have to see how my new semester goes) but I can tell you this: I'm looking forward to it immensely (and that I'll be writing it while cackling maniacally). Ta-ta for now! :D

--FireEdge--


	13. Day 13

Annnnd, I'm back! I finally had time to write this chapter this week, so sorry to those who have been holding their breath the entire time in anticipation (maybe). Hope you're not dead! Anyway, this chapter is the culmination of this entire story, which is why I took extra long to write it properly. So please enjoy!

Oscar: And try not to freak out after reading the first few sentences.

FireEdge: Way to ruin the story...

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 13**

_Wednesday, October 25_

_This whole week has been an absolute nightmare. First Dad, now Haar. When he didn't show up to pick me up after school and he didn't answer his cell phone, I knew something was wrong. I think I tried convincing myself that he was sleeping and hadn't heard the ringing. Then when I couldn't find him at home, I... I can't even remember. I was panicking, I think. I don't know if I was more devastated or relieved when I called his work and they told me that he was in the hospital. I'm there right now, and it's almost midnight, but I can't sleep... Maybe it's because he hasn't woken up yet... _

—_Jill_

* * *

As soon as he saw Jill disappear through the front doors of her school, he took off. It seemed that her mood from yesterday had carried over to today. She was determined to go to school and act as if nothing was wrong, at least until she found out for sure. Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder if she was right in the head. He could still remember when she'd flipped out on him because he refused to tell her how Shiharam was doing. Now, she was completely calm.

Stopping at a red light, Haar debated on whether or not he wanted to turn at the next street. If he turned, he would be able to take that street to work. If he went straight, he would eventually get home. The light turned green and he accelerated. He missed the turn.

Technically, he was supposed to go to work today. Actually, he had work yesterday, too. He probably should've phoned, but he'd forgotten. Oh, well, he had quite a few sick days left anyway. Maybe if he called today and said that he had been so busy puking his guts out yesterday that he couldn't phone, he might get away with it.

Pulling into his parking spot, he walked slowly into the apartment building and lingered at his mailbox, flipping through his keys one at a time, intentionally saving the mailbox key for last. Finally reaching the right one, he unlocked the box to find it empty. He stared at the small metal box for maybe a minute before closing it and heading towards the elevator.

Shutting the door behind him, Haar walked slowly towards the phone, not bothering to take his jacket off. The temperature had dropped lower today, in response to the early snow, but he knew that he wouldn't be having any heat anytime soon. The building ran on one central heating system and the landlords were usually too cheap to turn it up before mid-November.

"Well... I guess I'd better phone work..."

After eyeing the phone for a good five minutes, he finally picked up the receiver and proceeded to have a one-way yelling match with Kris, all the while faking a hacking cough. Once the other man had finished chastising him for missing work two days in a row, Haar hung up and his good eye scanned the room for something, or nothing, to do. His gaze then fell on his scrapbook, still lying open on the coffee table.

Settling down on the couch, he pulled the album over to him and flipped through the pages slowly. Last night, he had spent several hours with Jill poring over every single picture and article. She had been especially curious about the photographs of her parents, herself and... Sigrun.

His lips curled into a smile as he remembered her face when he told her that she had been his girlfriend at the time. Jill had looked away with an annoyed look on her face, refusing to meet his eye. He could've sworn that she was pouting. Luckily for her, he had been feeling merciful and decided against teasing her.

Turning another page, he saw the photo of him holding a nine-month-old Jill. He recalled distinctly that she was very squirmy and liked pulling at his hair, which was longer than was fashionable, now that he thought about it... Either way, Shiharam had insisted on taking a picture of them together.

Of course, Haar had humoured the man. Shiharam had been like a father to him, after all, and he had only recently lost his wife as well. It felt wrong to refuse him any favour, even if it meant posing with a little devil-child.

Actually, he was pretty sure that that wasn't the only time where Jill had been forced onto him. He distinctly remembered that, before he was enrolled in the army, Shiharam always made him play with her whenever he stopped by for a visit.

_Oh, so that's why I don't drink tea anymore..._ he thought to himself as he recalled having tea parties with a three year-old Jill. She had been so bossy and the tea she made had been horrid. Maybe because it was composed of hot tap water and actual leaves that she had plucked from the bushes outside.

* * *

"_You're... breaking up with me?" Sigrun repeated slowly._

"_Yeah..." he replied nonchalantly, his hands buried in his jean pockets._

"_Can... Can I ask why? I... I thought that... we were..."_

"_... I'm joining the army as soon as I graduate next month," Haar stated after a moment of thought. He was uncomfortably aware of the tears welling up in Sigrun's eyes._

"_Oh... So, is... is that the reason, then?" Sigrun sniffled, wiping at her tears._

"_No," he answered._

_The young woman looked up at him, confusion etched upon her angelic features. It was clear that she didn't understand. Actually, he didn't entirely understand, either._

"_Then... then why?" she demanded, her voice nearly a squeak._

"_I don't think it'd have worked out," he said, his eyes refusing to look at her face. He wasn't really sure why he didn't think that their relationship wouldn't last. Maybe it was an inferiority complex; she really was too good for him anyway. "You can do better than me."_

"_Y-You're perfectly fine the way you are, Haar! I-I don't know why you can't see that!" Sigrun exclaimed, suddenly frustrated._

"_I don't love you," he blurted out. It had just come to him: the reason why he wanted to break up with this gorgeous, kind-hearted young woman. He didn't love her. It was as simple as that. How had he not realized it before? "I never have. Not that way."_

_Her eyes were wide with shock. A second passed. Then another. He said nothing, but he studied her face from the corner of his eyes. The astonishment had finally worn off, and her features shifted between bewilderment and anger._

_Haar caught the twitch of movement just as her hand connected with his face. She let out a stifled sob and ran off. _

* * *

Haar's head jerked forward as he was jolted out of his sleep by a crisp knocking at his door. Wiping the drool that had dripped down the right side of his jaw, he closed the still-open photo album and strode to the entrance.

Still somewhat in dreamland, Haar couldn't quite register what greeted him beyond the threshold. Standing before him were three men dressed in formal military uniforms. The most distinguished among them, with his heavily-decorated jacket, stood slightly in front of the other two men. One of them held a large, black box.

Then, everything clicked. Unconsciously, Haar straightened up and his arm rose into an automatic salute.

"General Tauroneo, sir."

"At ease," Tauroneo said, almost wearily.

Haar's gaze wandered past the general to rest on the black box. Tauroneo caught his glance and his features became grimmer. Taking the box from the other soldier, he held it out towards Haar.

"... I'm sure you know why we're here. This never gets easier and I know that there is nothing I can say to make it any better."

He took the box wordlessly, staring down at it. Haar didn't need to open it to know that inside sat an ornamental uniform, decorated with the appropriate medals, stripes and badges, and Shiharam's dog tag.

"Shiharam specified that I was to report his death to you first, before going to his daughter, who I believe is his only remaining family," Tauroneo continued.

"... Yes. That sounds right," Haar said finally, after a long silence. "I'll talk to Jill, if you don't mind."

"I understand," the other man replied with a nod. "You have my deepest condolences, Haar. I know that he was like a father to you. Shiharam was a good man and I'm glad that I knew him. This country will miss him dearly."

"No it won't. Just people will miss him. Daein misses no one. _This country_ killed him," Haar retorted bitterly.

Tauroneo's eyes closed. Both of them knew that what he said was true. There was nothing the general could say.

"I'm sorry, Haar."

"Don't be. Now... if you'll excuse me, General," he said wearily, saluting once more, the box grasped in his other hand.

The three soldiers returned his salute and Haar shut the door. As soon as it was closed, he sank to the floor, exhausted, and let the box gently drop beside him. His hands rubbed his face, massaging his temples before raking themselves through his tangled hair. However, he could still feel it bubbling up inside him. He could feel it boiling in the pit of his gut, rolling up his throat, eventually choking him.

"Dammit."

He picked up the box and threw it across the room. It crashed into the opposing wall with a melancholy thud before scattering its contents on the floor by the couch.

* * *

When Haar placed the helmet of his motorcycle on his head and turned the key in the ignition, his face was back to its normal apathetic expression. It was like nothing had ever happened. Except that something had. Shiharam was dead.

Pulling out of his parking spot, he slowly turned onto the road. It was snowy again and he could feel the tires protesting his attempt to speed up. He really needed tires with more traction.

Haar stopped automatically at the stop sign, sliding ever so slightly. He paid this no heed, however. His mind was busy running through the unpleasant deeds that needed to be done. First off, he had to visit Shiharam's safety deposit box. The other man had long ago left him a copy of his key. There he would find the will... along with Shiharam's letter to Jill.

His young protégée was a completely different matter in itself. How was he supposed to break the news to her, after she had put on such a brave face this morning? After he had told her that things would probably work out? He didn't know where he would even start.

HONK!

Haar started and pressed on the gas as he was brought back to reality. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his mind. It wouldn't do for him to get distracted while driving. It was lucky that he had just been at a stop, and not actually, well... moving.

He'd just have to wing it, like he'd done with so many things in his life, like his eleventh grade History presentation and breaking up with Sigrun... For now, he'd focus on getting to that safety deposit box. Worry about Jill later...

Then an image of her tear-streaked face, illuminated by the light from his fridge, appeared in his mind again. Would she look like that once more? Or would it be worse? Why had Shiharam entrusted this duty to him? He had never been good at these things; he didn't know how to tell people what they needed, or wanted, to hear. Actually, he just wasn't very good with people at all, now that he thought about it. Maybe that was why he was still a bachelor...

BEEEP! BEEEP!

A few things registered in Haar's mind at that moment. One: he had just run a red light. Two: the honking directed at him was coming from his blind side. His head whipped to the right just in time to see a truck heading straight towards him, tires squealing on the slippery road.

He was aware of a crunching sensation, screeching metal and pain so excruciating that he immediately lost consciousness._  
_

* * *

"_More tea?" _

_Haar stared down at the little, red-headed girl seated across from him. She was almost four years old, with a cascade of bright red hair and big eyes. Currently clad in a pretty white sundress and wearing a cardboard tiara that he had fashioned five minutes ago in five minutes, she looked the essence of innocence._

_He knew better, however. She had wailed and stamped until he made her a crown, making him cut apart a cereal box and colouring it in. She had also threatened to tell on him to Shiharam if he refused to participate in her tea party. After all, why wouldn't he want to keep company with a doll, a large stuffed bear and a little demon from hell? _

"_No," he replied. Then after a second, he added, "thank you."_

_Her reaction was immediate. Her thin brows drew together and her chubby little cheeks puffed out angrily. However, surprisingly, she didn't dignify him with a response. Instead, she leaned over and poured more sludge into his plastic teacup._

"_Drink it," Jill commanded._

"_I said 'no', and I mean 'no'," Haar repeated, crossing his arms, returning her glare. Was he seriously staring down a three year-old?_

"_You HAVE to!"_

"_And why's that, princess?" he demanded, not realizing that he had just sealed his own fate._

"'_Coz I said so! You just said I'm a princess, so you have to do what I tell you!" she retorted, pointing at him accusingly._

"_Well, crap," Haar cursed under his breath. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, he contemplated his next move. "Well, I guess I commit high treason then."_

_Jill stared at him, perplexed. "What's... What's high tree... tree...sun?"_

"_You're not a very smart princess, are you?" he snorted._

_Then he yelped in pain as a plastic teapot struck him in the head with startling accuracy, its contents overflowing into his hair and dripping onto his shirt. As he recovered from the hit and slowly plucked plastic fragments off of his shoulders, Jill stormed out of the room._

* * *

His eyes fought to open. It was so hard, he felt as if his eyelids, no, his entire body for that matter, weighed a ton. His head also felt muddled, like his brain had been put through a food processor. Finally he managed to force them to peel back ever so slightly, and he could make out blurry shapes and shards of light piercing his one good eye. It all seemed too familiar. His barely ticking brain just registered that this was exactly like that fateful crash...

Then something moved to hover over him, slightly blocking out the lights. Somehow he could distinguish that it was a person, despite being unable to make out any other physical features. Everything was too bright, or was it too dark? He couldn't even see colours properly, just... lights and shadows. Then a lock of soft, long hair brushed against his cheek and, with one single word echoing in his mind, he was out again.

_Jill..._

* * *

Yeah, I just did that.

Oscar: Would you like to borrow my armour in case people angrily throw random objects at you?

FireEdge: Gee, I hope they throw cookies and fluffy bunny rabbits. _Cute_ fluffy bunny rabbits.

Oscar: Ummm... Probably... not...

FireEdge: Anyway, like I said last chapter, this was a humungous BLAST to write XD. I'm actually very pleased with how this chapter turned out. I just hope that the flashbacks didn't throw anyone off. I know they seemed randomly placed (and just, well, plain random), but they do have some significance (if you can figure it out). And that scene with Sigrun was inspired by Albert Camus' _L'étranger_, not gonna lie... I also deemed her behaviour appropriate, despite her being a rather passive character. Well, anyway, I hope you're looking forward to the next chapter! For those of you wondering if it's the last... well, yeah, it is. There will be a short epilogue, though! For now, over and out!

--FireEdge--


	14. Day 14

MANY, many apologies for the late update. I went through a vicious cycle of being bogged down by schoolwork and studying and hitting a writer's block, rinse and repeat about three times. So, now, I finally had enough motivation to write this!

Oscar: Well, enjoy the final chapter! Hopefully it meets up to your expectations!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Day 14**

_Thursday, October 26_

_It's a good thing that I'm not left-handed. Not that my handwriting is any neater with my good hand. I could probably pass as ambidextrous. I don't think that writing on Jill's back (she hasn't woken up she's such a deep sleeper) is helping the neatness of my handwriting either. Still, she fell asleep on top of me and I just managed to force my way into a sitting position to write. Well, anyway, the cat's out of the bag now. Jill found out about Shiharam's death. As I thought she would, she confronted me about it as soon as she found out... that I was faking sleeping. However, that confrontation took a turn that I didn't expect. I guess Jill's grown up a bit in the past two weeks. Either way, I don't really know what's going to happen from here on out. I suppose that there will be a lot of legal work to go through, and I suppose that I'm going to have to find a way for Jill to stay with me... All I know for certain is that... well... life's going to be interesting. _

—_Haar _

* * *

_Fumbling with her keys, Jill unlocked the door and nearly slammed it open before dashing inside. Glancing around the apartment quickly, she found it empty. Feeling her throat constrict uncomfortably, she nearly ran to Haar's room. However, looking inside, she was disconcerted to find it devoid of life as well._

_Swallowing a lump in her throat, she turned back into the main room. Dropping her schoolbag in a corner, she idly paced the apartment, brain whirring. Where had Haar gone? Why wasn't he picking up his phone? _

_Letting out a sigh, she noticed that the apartment was in slight disarray despite their cleaning two days ago. Wanting to occupy her hands, Jill proceeded to cleaning up some of the mess. She straightened up her couch, picked up a strange box she found on the floor near the wall and put away the photo album on the coffee table. As she started to clean up the dishes left over from their breakfast that morning, her gaze landed on an open address book. _

_Striding over to it, she saw that it was Haar's and that it was opened to an entry titled: 'Work'. Perhaps that was where he was? Maybe he was working late and he was so busy that he couldn't pick up his phone. _

_After fidgeting nervously for a few seconds, Jill finally picked up the phone and dialled the number in the address book. She didn't really care if she was acting silly; she just had a gnawing feeling in her stomach. If only she could hear his voice, everything would be okay._

_BRIIIING. BRIIIING. BRIIIING._

"_Lanvega's Automotive Garage, Kris speaking, how may I help you?"_

"_Uh... Um... Is... Is Haar there?" Jill stuttered nervously. If Haar was there, what exactly would she even say to him?_

"_Ah... He's not here at the moment. May I ask who's calling?" Kris asked after a pause._

"_I'm... a friend of his. He was... supposed to, ah, meet up with me a while ago and well, he's not picking up his cell phone so I was wondering if he was still at work..." she replied, feeling her heartbeat palpitate faster. _

"_... I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell you, but... Talrega Hospital called us a few hours ago. Haar was in a car accident. He's apparently okay, but they couldn't find any record of a living family member, and so they phoned us. But we don't have any contact info either. So, if you know any of his family, could you pass this on? ... Miss? Are you still there?" _

"_Y-Yes... Sorry, I... I just... Thanks for telling me. I'll, uh, try my best to find a number or something..." Jill stammered into the receiver as she snapped out of her stupor._

"_All right, then. Good luck and good day."_

_Hanging up the phone with a shaky hand, Jill stood still for a moment. Then she rifled through her bag for her wallet before dashing out the door. _

* * *

Jill groaned softly as she woke up. Sitting up straighter in her chair, she winced as she felt pins and needles shoot up her right leg. Trying to massage some feeling back into her stiff neck, the teenager blinked blearily. The lights in the hospital room were off, though the door to the hallway was open and light streamed in from the corridor.

The magenta-haired girl glanced down at her watch and saw that it was nearly 2:30 in the morning. She then stood up and made her way to Haar's bedside. He was still in a deep slumber. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe he'd woken up while she had been asleep. But then again, perhaps he was still under the influence of the anaesthesia he'd been given.

Her eyes moved from watching the rise and fall of his chest to the cast and sling on his left arm. She'd spoken to the doctor yesterday, though most of what he'd said had gone over her head. In the end, she had figured out that his left forearm was fractured and his left shoulder had been dislocated. He had also fractured his left knee cap and received many cuts, bruises and road burns. However, despite these injuries, Haar had apparently come out of the accident relatively lucky. His vertebrae weren't cracked and none of his internal organs had been seriously bruised.

Jill let out a sigh and tore her gaze away from Haar. Looking at his wounds made her nervous. However, deciding that she didn't want to sit down quite yet, she decided to take a walk.

"I'll be right back," she said softly, though she knew that he couldn't hear her. If only he were just pretending to ignore her...

Shuffling slowly down the corridor, Jill began to make her way to the coffee shop on the main floor. Stepping into the elevator, she leaned against one of its walls and yawned. However, as she stepped out of the elevator and approached the coffee shop, the smell of coffee and stale doughnuts woke her up... slightly.

"How may I help you?" the cashier asked wearily. He looked nearly as tired as she did.

"Could I get a hot chocolate, please?" she replied. Then, after a second, she added, "and a coffee, too, please."

"Anything in?"

"No, thank you."

After a minute of silence and pouring liquid, Jill took the two cups and slowly made her way to the elevator once more. She wasn't sure why she'd bought a coffee for. She didn't drink coffee. Maybe it was because her father and Haar always did. The smell was comforting, somehow.

The elevator door opened and Jill stepped inside. Stifling another yawn, Jill pressed a button with her elbow before leaning back against the side of the elevator once more. As the door closed, she heard three beeps from the overhead speakers, followed by a: 'Code Yellow'.

The girl frowned, wondering what that signified. She knew that 'Code Red' meant that there was a fire, but yellow?

A few moments later, the elevator door opened and Jill stepped out. However, it wasn't until she'd walked a couple of steps that she realized that she'd gotten off on the wrong floor. Turning around, she caught sight of the elevator door closing.

She was about to try and make a dash to the lift, without somehow spilling her hot drinks, when something flickered at the corner of her vision. Turning around, she saw a woman hobbling towards her. Jill couldn't place how old the woman was, perhaps in her early thirties, but she looked rather haggard and was shifty-looking. Judging by the robe she was wearing, the woman was a hospital patient.

"Um... ma'am?" Jill ventured cautiously. The woman had stopped several feet away from her and was staring at her. It was making her slightly uncomfortable.

The woman stared back at her for a moment before taking a few more unsteady steps closer to Jill. The girl involuntarily took a step backwards before realizing that that was rude. Steeling herself, she forced herself to stand her ground and soon the woman was less than two feet away from her.

"C-Can I help you, ma'am?" Jill asked instead, averting her eyes from the woman's eerie gaze.

The woman then leaned in towards Jill.

"Do you know where my box is?" the woman whispered hoarsely.

"Er... no, I'm afraid I don't..." the teenager replied, her brows drawing down in puzzlement.

"Are you sure?" the woman insisted, leaning in so close that Jill couldn't help but stumble back. "Because I can't find it. I think they took it from me! But I don't know where it is!"

"I-I'm sorry to hear that," Jill stammered. The woman's voice had become progressively louder and quicker as she spoke.

"You have to help me find it! I don't know where it is! I don't know where it is! Please—what did you say your name was?"

"I-I didn't say my name... But, um, it's Jill," she answered, not entirely sure if she should have.

"Jill... Jill... Like in 'Jack and Jill'," remarked the woman, having apparently forgotten about her box.

"Sorry?" Jill asked, even more confused than before.

"Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after," the woman sang before bursting into a fit of giggles.

A shiver ran down Jill's spine at the strange woman's song. The latter was nearly on the floor laughing now and Jill decided that it was time to sneak away when she heard footsteps come from around the corner.

"Ah! Dalia, there you are!" a nurse exclaimed, a security guard on her heels. "We've been looking all over for you!"

"Are you okay, Miss?" the security guard asked Jill, noticing her for the first time as the nurse took Dalia's arm. The patient was still giggling, but let the nurse lead her away.

"Um... Yes, I'm fine," Jill answered, though she still felt uneasy at her encounter with Dalia.

"Well, take care then. Sorry about all of that, I hope that she didn't bother you," the security guard replied with a nod before following the nurse down the hallway.

Pressing the elevator button, Jill then made her way back to Haar's room as fast as possible. As soon as she sat down next to Haar, she felt much better. She supposed that hospitals just made her jumpy. Even as a child, she never particularly cared for them. When Shiharam had taken her for her annual check-ups, she used to cry because she didn't want to go to the hospital. Then, when it was over, she would dash out so fast that Shiharam had to race after her.

Though she still didn't think that she liked hospitals, Jill didn't have the temptation to run out today. Not if Haar was still there, unconscious.

Pulling her chair closer to his bedside, Jill examined his face, looking for a sign that he would wake up. His mouth didn't even twitch. However, she noticed that there was a fine scar that ran down the right side of his face, from the temple, curving near his eye and down to his cheekbone. She'd never really noticed it before, but she supposed that it was from the injury that had left him half blind all of those years ago. Back when he'd been in the army.

Jill felt tears prick at her eyes. The army... Her father... She still hadn't heard anything about him. But she had been able to put on a brave face for the past few days, praying for the best. However, she knew that she wouldn't have been able to without Haar being... there.

"Please, wake up soon..."

* * *

When Jill woke up this time, the sun was streaming through the window and she was not leaning back in her chair. Her head was resting on one of her arms on the edge of Haar's bed and her other hand clutched Haar's.

With a start, she bolted straight up and she let go of Haar's hand as if it were on fire. The girl felt the heat rise to her face. She had never held his hand before. Swallowing nervously, she looked around the room, hoping that no one had seen that. However, as she glanced at her watch and saw that it was nearly 10:00 AM, she realized that a nurse or doctor must've come in at least once or twice.

Pushing her chair back from the bed, she reached for her cup of hot—or, rather, cold—chocolate instead, realizing that she hadn't drunk any of it. Had she really fallen asleep again? When had she grabbed his hand anyway?

Putting down her cup, she shook her head and stood up with the intention of going to the bathroom. Maybe if she splashed some water on her face, it wouldn't feel so hot.

However, as she started down the hallway, she saw a familiar figure coming slowly towards her, pushing a cart laden with books, magazines and newspapers. Jill had to blink several times before her brain was willing to accept that standing before her, and also staring back just as surprised, was Ilyana.

"Jill? What are you doing here?" the soft-spoken girl asked, pushing her cart closer so that she was standing in front of Jill.

"I was just going to ask you the same thing!" replied Jill.

"Well, I'm volunteering right now..."

"Really? I never pegged you as a candy striper," Jill remarked before she could stop herself.

"Zihark suggested that I should get involved in the community more... or something. And if I work for more than three hours every shift, I get a free meal voucher... The restaurant here is really good, you know?" Ilyana answered with a blissful smile. "But it's only got a ten gold limit..."

"Oh... I see..." Jill replied, surprised yet not. "But, um, isn't there school today?"

"It's a day off, remember?" replied Ilyana with a smile. "Anyway, what are you doing here? You're not volunteering, too, are you? You don't have a uniform on, so..."

"I'm here, uh, visiting a friend. He was in an accident recently, so I came by to see if he was okay," Jill answered, her eyes flickering to Haar's nearby room.

"That's unfortunate... I hope he gets better soon," the other girl replied. "Do you want something to read to pass the time, if you're staying?"

"Oh, sure, I guess..."

"Do you want a magazine, or...?"

Jill's eyes fell on the stack of newspaper.

"You want a newspaper?" Ilyana remarked, catching her gaze. "Here, take one. I've got plenty."

"Th-Thanks," Jill replied, taking the proffered newspaper.

"I've got to get going and finish my rounds, though. I'll see you at school tomorrow, Jill," answered Ilyana before she waved and pushed her cart down the hallway once more.

After staring at Ilyana's retreating figure for a moment, Jill turned her gaze to the newspaper in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she unfolded the paper and scanned the front page and her heart nearly stopped.

'MISSING FIGHTER PILOTS FOUND; DAEIN MOURNS LOST WYVERN UNITS'.

* * *

For the second time in two days, Jill found herself fumbling for her keys as she stood in front of Haar's apartment. However, this time, she was having much more trouble. The tears that she had to constantly wipe away were blurring her vision and her hands shook. She wasn't even sure how she had made it there from the hospital.

Finally the lock turned and she stumbled into the apartment. She couldn't believe how stupid she was. That box she had seen yesterday. She had seen them before, her father had shown them to her when she was younger. How could she not have recognized it when she had picked it up?

Rushing over to the coffee table, where she had previously placed the box, she stared at it. Taking a shaky breath, Jill reached out and opened the clasps before lifting the lid. Inside it sat a decorated uniform atop the Daein flag. Medals and stripes adorned the uniform and nestled among it all were a set of dog tags that read: 'Shiharam Fizzart'.

Though the girl knew that her father was dead ever since she had read the article at the hospital, deep down inside she had hoped that it was a mistake. Now, however, she knew that this wish was in vain. He was really gone. Forever.

Letting a sob escape her throat, Jill buried her face in her hands. It was all too much to handle at once; the strain of worry over the past few days, Haar hospitalized and her father dead. Right at that moment, she realized, with a shock, exactly how alone she was. And how much this fact scared her.

* * *

Jill stared intently at Haar's almost still form. She had somehow made her way back to the hospital and had been waiting for approximately five minutes for Haar to wake up. However, he continued to doze.

But Jill wasn't fooled.

"Haar, wake up. I know you're awake," she said quietly but fiercely. For the moment, she had shoved aside her loss. Right now, she wanted answers to her questions. Such as _why_ he hadn't told her about Shiharam's death right when he'd found out himself.

The rise and fall of Haar's chest stopped for a moment and then resumed, however he had opened his eyes this time. His clear blue-grey eyes stared at the ceiling before he glanced at her from the corner of his left eye.

"You caught me," he stated hoarsely, coughing as his throat readjusted to being used once more.

"... Why didn't you tell me? How long have you known?" she asked instead, cutting to the chase.

"I... seem to be having... déjà vu..." Haar remarked, his eyes returning to contemplating the ceiling.

"I found... it... at your apartment. You... You must've known before your accident," Jill accused, feeling tears prick at the back of her eyes again. She felt an all too familiar lump build up in her throat and she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Why... Why didn't you call me?"

It was too late now, the unwanted tears spilled forth and she turned away, furiously wiping them away with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Huh... I guess... I was still in denial, maybe. Or maybe I was too scared to tell you," Haar answered after a moment of thought.

Jill looked back at Haar, unsure how to respond, but let out a small gasp instead. His eyes were closed now, and his breathing was unchanged, but tear-tracks were visible on his cheeks. The girl covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle another sob as a horrid realization dawned upon her.

How could she have been so selfish? This entire two weeks, she had been only thinking of herself. She had been so angry at Haar when she thought that he was hiding the truth from her. Just now, she had accused him of not telling her about her father's death.

She was so stupid. How could she not have realized that Haar felt the exact same way? After all, Shiharam had been like a father to him, as well.

"I'm... I'm... sorry, Haar. I'm so... so sorry," she choked out.

"What are you apologizing for?" he demanded, not unkindly.

"For... For being so... stupid and... selfish and... and..."

Jill let out a squeak as Haar's right hand reached up and clasped her arm before yanking her down into an awkward one-armed hug. Her face was pressed against his chest, her cheek rubbing against the coarse hospital gown, and she could feel his breath tickling the top of her head.

"You don't have to apologize. I haven't been much better. I've been just as selfish and ignorant as you have. I guess we're both pretty big idiots without Shiharam around..."

The magenta-haired girl felt Haar's arm tighten around her.

"... A lot has happened these past two weeks... In fourteen days, my entire life has spun upside down," he continued thoughtfully.

Wriggling her head and upper body a bit, Jill finally managed to look at Haar. As her eyes met his, he smiled. Despite the situation, Jill couldn't help a blush rising to her cheeks. She had never seen such a smile on his face. The teenager couldn't exactly discern what his smile was conveying. It was both sad, happy... and hopeful at the same time.

However, there was one thing that she knew for certain. Her father may have left them, but he had made sure that he hadn't left them alone.

* * *

Now, you're all probably wondering: 'What the hell was that?' And my answer to that question is: 'I have no idea'. See, when I started writing, I THOUGHT I had inspiration, but as I continued writing, I began to doubt myself and kept thinking that everything I was writing seemed too fake and didn't make sense (which is probably true). Then I took a break and started to read some other fanfics to get back into the Fire Emblem writing mood and it worked. Which is why the ending is noticeably different from the beginning and middle (or at least it is to me). But then I didn't know how to fix it, so I just tried to blend it in and this is how it ended up.

Oscar: It is also noticeably sappier.

FireEdge: Yeah. I figured that since Haar got hit by a truck last chapter, I should make it up with a flufftastic ending. To all of you gagging at said fluff: Sorry, it had to be done. Anyway, I don't know what you all thought of this chapter, but despite the bumpy road I took to write it, this is essentially what I planned for it to end up like. Sorry it wasn't as epic as it should've been.

Oscar: Well, there's still the epilogue, so you'll see one more (short) chapter before being put out of your misery. Stay tuned...

-FireEdge-


	15. Epilogue

O.O

Oscar: Well, hello there. Nice of you to drop by. Try and not to choke on the dust… Afraid that since you've gone brain-dead I haven't really existed, so I couldn't clean up your mess of a head.

FireEdge: Now, now, Oscar. You're still alive and kicking, and you know it. But WOW, I am SO sorry to all of those who (if you're still around) have waited more than a year for this measly little epilogue. I don't really know what happened, frankly. I think I hit a writer's block at first, and then university started (which has more or less not stopped since last September and is still going right now…) and I've basically had no time since then. I just recently overcame my chronic writer's block, as well, and despite having an exam to study for, I decided to take advantage of it and get this written down.

Either way, I'm just glad that I'll finally be wrapping this up. So, though this is probably not what you're all expecting, and it's actually rather different from the other chapters, this felt like the best way for me to end it. So please enjoy this as best as you can!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

**In Fourteen Days**

**Epilogue**

_Friday, October 13_

_My dearest Jill,_

_If you are reading this, then the worst has come to pass, and I am no longer with you. I know that there is nothing that can be said to make this any better, and I am so sorry to have left you. Even now, I wish that this war did not exist, and that you could've grown up in a peaceful country and era. For now, all that I can hope for is that the war will end soon and that your future will be free of all this fighting…_

_You know, Jill, before I left, I had a horrible feeling about this mission. I felt more uneasy about it than usual. That is why I left you in Haar's care. I know that you're a very strong and independent young woman, and I feel nothing but pride when I look at you. You're very much like your mother was, headstrong and free-spirited, though I'm afraid that you may have inherited my stubbornness. So, though I know you can take care of yourself, I felt more secure, knowing he was watching over you in my stead. _

_I am unsure as to how you and Haar have gotten along thus far, but please give him a chance if you have not already done so. He is a good man and I have the utmost trust in him. He has been almost like a son to me. If there should be anything you need, don't hesitate to go to him. As hard as it may be to believe, I sometimes see similarities between you two (perhaps it is because I've 'raised' both of you), and I hope that you'll be able to rely on one another through this and any other hardships. _

_I feel as if there are a thousand other things I should say to you, but I know not what. But what I do know is that I have faith in you, and that you will have a bright future, though it may seem bleak right now. I know you always tell me that my sayings and proverbs are 'cheesy', but indulge me this one time. Be true to yourself, Jill, and follow your heart. You, and only you, are the one who can determine your future. And, remember, I will always be with you, no matter where your life takes you._

_I love you, Jill._

_Your father, _

_Shiharam Fizzart_

_P.S. Forgive me for saying this, but it is something all fathers fret over I think, trivial as it may seem right now. But when you decide to marry, make sure that he is a good man. If Haar approves of him, I can rest in peace.

* * *

_

"Shiharam!" a muffled voice called from beyond the closed bedroom door.

In the room, sprawled face-first on a bed, a magenta-haired youth groaned and buried his head further into his pillow. He hoped that if he didn't answer, then the voice would leave him alone and let him sleep.

"SHIHARAM!" the voice called again, louder this time. Then, the boy's bedroom door slammed open and a tall woman with long hair the same colour as his stood in the doorway.

"Shiharam! You're still in bed? I woke you up nearly an hour ago!" she exclaimed before letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Huh? Y-Y-You did?" the boy asked, yawning at the same time. He pushed himself up into an upright position and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"You're just as bad as your father," the woman muttered darkly, frowning disapprovingly.

"I heard that," a deep and gravelly voice called from the next room over.

"C'mon, get up and wash up. And don't you dare go back to sleep again," his mother said, blatantly ignoring the other voice.

"Why do I have to get up so early anyway? It's only 8:00," Shiharam replied, glancing at the clock on his night-stand. "And it's a Sunday…"

"We're visiting your grandfather this morning."

Shiharam looked up and saw that his father was now also standing in his doorway. It was funny how, after sixteen years (though he really only could remember the past ten) of seeing his parents together, it still surprised him when they stood side-by-side. They were an unlikely pair, and he'd often been thus told by his classmates, teachers and other acquaintances.

His mother, though in her thirties, looked younger than her age. Much to his embarrassment, she was often mistaken for his older sister. This happened often when he'd have to bring her to parent-teacher conferences. However, it was doubly embarrassing if his father was with them. He was a good fifteen years older than his mother, and with his greying hair and stony face, he looked more like Shiharam's grandfather than anything. Plus, whenever it was mentioned that he was a veteran, the situation just became more awkward.

Physical appearances aside, their personalities were complete opposites as well. His mother was loud and aggressive. She was unafraid to speak her mind and had a quick temper. His father only spoke when he needed to and was completely apathetic towards… well, everything. Sometimes the boy wondered if his father slept with his eyes open (which his mother claimed he did… especially when she was mad at him).

"Oh right… you said something about that yesterday…" Shiharam said, vaguely recalling his mother saying he needed to get up early today.

"Well, I'm glad you remembered. Now hurry up! Breakfast is ready," his mother replied before disappearing down the hall. "And do something about your hair! It's sticking up everywhere! And you, too, Haar!"

His father turned to watch her walk away, a small smirk on his lips. The older man's hair was in no better condition than his son's. It seemed that he had been asleep until very recently, as well.

"You'd better get ready fast. Your mother's a little bit… excitable… this morning… She's anxious to see your grandfather," he remarked lazily, his eyes returning to rest on Shiharam.

"Yeah… She misses him a lot, even now, huh?" Shiharam asked as he rummaged through his closet for his dress clothes. "That's why you guys named me after him, right?"

"Mmm…"

* * *

The weather was nice, for late October in Talrega, and a breeze blew across the cemetery, tossing Shiharam's hair into his eyes. Reaching up, he raked a hand through his tresses, pushing his bangs back. The cemetery, situated outside the city, was about an hour's drive from their home. Now, it was nearly noon, and the sun was high in the sky. At that moment, the graveyard—bathed in sunlight and dotted here and there with colourful flowers—looked very peaceful and beautiful, despite being the resting place of the departed. Or perhaps that was why it was so.

Letting out a long breath, Shiharam turned away from surveying the rows upon rows of graves and rested his gaze upon his parents. His mother was kneeling in front of his grandfather's tombstone. She carefully arranged the flowers they had bought on the way here, and her slim fingers lightly caressed the small picture inset into the stone.

As his mother stood up, his father's arms encircled her waist and he pulled her tight against him, his face buried into her hair. She turned her head to look at him and they exchanged a look before she smiled softly and kissed him.

Shiharam blushed and quickly turned away, feeling like an intruder on this private moment. Though his parents never made any public displays of affection—actually, now that he thought about it, they usually bickered in public—they occasionally did so in private instead, such as at that very moment. But he wished his parents would remember that he was usually _right there_ whenever this happened…

Walking away from them, Shiharam continued to mull over their relationship. His parents tended to argue a lot—or, rather, his mother ranted and raved while his father sat there looking bored. However, there were just as many times where they would look at each other with complete and utter… Well, he wasn't quite sure what it was. Love? Trust? Understanding? It seemed to be a mix of all of those, and more. At those times, though he was sure he shouldn't have witnessed them as often as he had, he thought that maybe it really wasn't so strange that his parents had married each other.

Shoving his hands into his pant pockets, he took in a deep breath and looked skywards. For as far as his eyes could see, there was not a cloud or a creature in sight. The blue of the wide expanse above him was so clear that he thought it was almost akin to staring into a pool of water.

"So, Grandpa, even though you're way up there, I wonder… can you see us now…?"

* * *

So, from the beginning, I had planned to end off the story with Shiharam's (corny, I KNOW) letter to Jill. I had originally decided to leave it just as his letter, but that seemed like cheating, ha ha…

Oscar: And lazy, but maybe that's just me…

FireEdge: That, too. However, after resolving that I wanted to add something more to it, I couldn't decide WHAT to put, and who's POV to use. Then it hit me. Use SHIHARAM'S. So that's how this happened. Also, am I the only one who thinks Haar and Jill would be (unintentionally) incredibly embarrassing parents?

Anyway, thanks for following this story and for checking it out in the first place. Though the ending is a bit lacklustre, and it might've been more appropriate to end it with the previous chapter, I'd already declared an epilogue way before, so here it is. Hopefully you all enjoyed this crazy (and long) joyride, and I'll see you all around again! For now, take care!

-FireEdge-


End file.
